Drifting Leaves
by AnonymousSparkle
Summary: A new woman in the village becomes a part of Team Kakashi's lives and it can't be helped that something about her is familiar. What changes will she bring? “Yeah, I remember too. It’s funny, everything has changed but…nothing has changed.”
1. Reunion

**AN: So, this is my first attempt at a serious, multi-chapter, Naruto story. This idea has been floating my mind so I simply began writing. I'm not finished, probably not even a third of the way through, and I've already gone back, changed, and rearranged. This has certainly been an interesting project for me. I'm now certain of my first few chapters so I'll begin posting. Don't be surprised to see the rate of my posting slow down as I catch up to where I am in my writing. Please review; I really want the feedback on this, especially because of the time I've invested in it. If there are problems, I will clear them up and not let it spread through all of my chapters. I have no fear of going back over chapters. I totally rewrote about three of them already.**

A pretty blond woman ran through the forest, loose, long hair flying out behind her, determination on her face. This was something she just had to do, because it was her own fault that this was happening. The woman bit her lip, reminding herself not to think about it, not to think like that. An inner part of her knew it was true though and would not let it go. She would have to ignore it for now.

The forest flew by her, undefined blobs of green and brown. No one was here, she could sense that and yet she continued on gut feeling alone. He was here and she would find him. Her blue eyes searched the rapidly passing landscape for any signs of life but found none. That did not mean much though; he was a ninja after all.

As she dashed along the branches, the trees began to close in around her. The pretty blonde was now deep in the forest. An inner voice told her she should turn back, that she had gone too far and the others would be waiting for her. She ignored that too.

A clearing opened in the trees ahead and she slowed to a halt at its edge. Around the clearing, the ground moved up sharply, blocking the view on two sides. Her blue eyes were not focused on this though, but rather on the raven-haired young man who currently had his back to her. This didn't matter, she still knew who he was.

Slowly the young man turned around, being acutely aware of her presence. Red eyes met her own cerulean blue ones. If he was surprised to see her, it only showed in a quick widening of his eyes. At first, neither said a word nor stirred from where they stood. Then, as though having thought things through and coming to a decision, the boy took a fighting stance.

Blue eyes showed hurt at this as the woman took a position of defense. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to do this ototo-san." She said, the last word coming out softly. "Hn" was his only response at first as he continued to take her in. There was not anything particularly special about what she wore, normal Kunoichi mission clothes. Everything she wore was black, from the tight fitting top to the knee length skirt, which had slits up her thighs. Her hair was a bright blonde, one he had only ever seen on one other person. Someone he refused to think about now, although, her intense blue eyes did nothing to dispel the similarities.

Narrowing his eyes he said "Why would you even care ane-san?" sneering at the last word as though it were a joke. _'I've always cared.'_ She thought to herself, biting her tongue before she could say a thing. She didn't deserve to say such things. Not getting a response from her, he said "I'm not going with you."

"No, I wouldn't expect you to." She said, " But you are going with the friends who still care very much for you." The woman responded in a hardened tone. At this, the young man went to action, aiming a well-placed kick at her.

The woman, however, blocked it easily, sending him flying behind her. The young man, not to be outdone, landed on his feet and went right back into action. He continued with his attacks, and she continued to block almost every one with little effort. The young man just became more intense in his attacks, forcing the woman into more aggressive action. Taking advantage of an opening she sent him flying with a roundhouse kick to the chest.

"I know you too well, what makes you think you have a chance?" she asked him, a cocky tone in her voice. Getting pissed off the man stood and again attacked. This time the girl used a jutsu to protect herself and the young man grinned. This was going to be her downfall. Then he noticed something unusual, he couldn't read her jutsu, couldn't see through it. "Don't expect your eyes to help you." She said laughing, "I knew your brother, remember?" _'Knew'_ he thought to himself, as he blocked her '_hardly describes it all, too weak of a word.'_

Slowly the young man wore the young woman down. He continued to increase his intensity, realizing this wasn't going to be an easy fight. At first, he had tried to conserve energy and chakra but now he wasn't holding back and she was having to work twice as hard. '_God...she has just as much stamina as…' _he trailed off not allowing himself to go there.

Knocking her around quite a bit he took a moment while she was down to summon the chidori. No way was he losing to her. He wouldn't lose to her any more than he'd lose to _him_. The blonde was running low on energy and chakra at this point. Seeing the chidori she knew this wasn't going to be pretty. She had some powerful moves of her own but could any of them stand up to the chidori? Dodging his advance she grounded herself and prepared to take him on.

Suddenly a voice came from the woods surrounding them "Back off of my cousin!" the angry voice said. Ignoring the young man to whom the voice belonged to, the raven-haired man continued. Summoning the last of her chakra to her hand, the blonde haired woman began to make it swirl until it was a ball of swirling energy in her palm. She held the rasengan up just in time to block the chidori and felt herself slide backward with the impact.

Suddenly the raven-haired boy was knocked away from her by a yellow streak. The other young man, who shared the same bright yellow hair as her, was now facing the raven haired boy. A pain registered in her stomach. Looking down she saw blood beginning to form.

Apparently the chidori had gotten further than she had realized. She had been running low on chakra, it shouldn't be so surprising that he had pierced her defenses. Besides, the rasengan had never been her specialty. A smirk almost crossed her face, he had gotten strong, very strong. Slowly her hand moved to her abdomen, running through the blood forming there. She looked up in time to see the two boys going at it just before she passed out.

**AN2: Totally confused yet? Good, if this made total sense then I'd have to check your mind to see if there is some kind of psychic connection between the two of us. For those wondering, ****ototo means little brother, ane means big sister. Please correct me if I used those incorrectly, I tried to do my research. I know, I suck at writing fight scenes but I think I got my point across. Please let me know what you think, the good and bad! Press the pretty blue button, you know you want to.**


	2. Stalker

**AN: So, I did't exactly get the amount of reviews or hits I was hoping for on the first chapter. 15 hits, only 15 hits! Did I just post at a bad time of day? I thought I might post the next one and see what happens. I will not be posting this often in the future. I realize that the first chapter is very vague and, most likely, confusing. I wrote it that way. Here is where the real story begins. I'm sorry this isn't much longer than my first chapter. I promise I'm working on making the other ones longer. I would like to thank my only reviewer, Astrocam. Now, on with the story!**

**I apologize for the repeated postings of chapter 2, my computer and the site**** were not getting along. I'm also going to clarify something, the two chapters are time gaped. The second chapter occurs before the first. This story will jump frequently but only forward from now on and not by huge leaps.**

The sun shone brightly down on the village, it was a beautiful day in Konoha. Naruto, not surprisingly was making his way toward his favorite ramen shop. He could see his friend and teammate Sakura walking toward him from the opposite direction. Her eyes were closed at the moment, her face turned up toward the sun. Apparently, she was enjoying the sunshine.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at his teammates antics, noting that the sun was making her pink hair even brighter than usual. It is understandable then, that the girl was named for the cherry blossoms so familiar to Konoha in the spring. When they had been younger, Naruto had had a crush on the pretty girl, but, as the two had grown up, he had settled into a comfortable friendship with her.

Sakura's lips broke into a grin as she saw her favorite blonde, knuckleheaded, friend. "Good morning Sakura-chan." He called out, as they got closer.

"Good Morning Naruto-kun." She called back brightly.

Together they walked into the shop and took seats next to each other on the stools. "You seem to be in a particularly good mood this morning Sakura." Naruto commented after they ordered.

"Oh, I guess that's because Tsunade-sama has given me the next few days off. We've been working rather hard lately." Sakura said with a smile.

"You deserve a break Saukura-chan." Naruto said as the roman arrived. Naruto made a show of breathing in the steam that rose from bowl of hot noodles. Saukura laughed at this. She truly had missed her blond teammate in the years he had been gone for training. Naruto began inhaling his lunch as Sakura picked at hers in a more girlish fashion.

The pink haired Konochi thought about the two other, currently missing, men in her life. One, of course was only temporary. Their sensei was simply out on a mission. The other was a little more permanent. No one had really been able to get a grip on where the missing Uchiha was or what he had been up to since he had chosen to walk away from the village. However, they had a good idea of what his goal in all of this was. Sakura still held hope that their missing teammate would return, or more likely, be returned to her.

Shaking her head to clear that line of thought she turned back to Naruto, who had already finished his fill. "One of these days you are going to burst your stomach eating like that." She said with a giggle.

Naruto could only look at her with a slightly sheepish face. A light giggle from the other end of the shops bar made the two of them turn to see a woman with long, straight, brown hair. She was leaning forward, eating her roman quickly, as though she did not want them to know it had been her who giggled. The place was empty though, who else could it have been?

Turning back to their conversation the two quickly forgot the incident all together. Soon, it was time for them to head off in their own directions, ready to complete the tasks they had planned for the day.

* * *

Later, Naruto made his way around the grocery store, grabbing what he needed to restock the shelves in his apartment. Can you even call it grocery shopping when a majority of the items are instant roman?

He was currently in the produce section, debating what fruits he wanted to pick up. Upon encouragement from his friends Naruto had actually been better about keeping at least some apples and such around his apartment. Today he decided that peaches and bananas looked good

As he was placing a bunch of bananas in his basket, he saw the woman from the roman shop again. She was looking at the melons, apparently trying to find one that was ripe. This time, he could see her face, as her hair was not pushed forward. There was nothing truly special about her; she had a pretty face, but nothing extraordinary. Shrugging it off as coincidence, he moved on to the next isle and did not give the woman another thought.

* * *

As the sun began to set, Naruto finally arrived back at his apartment, tired after a long day. As he walked down the hall toward his door he did a double take. Was that that woman again? Sure enough, long brown hair could be seen facing him as she placed a key in a door a few down from his own. Don't tell me she just moved in here. How strange is this?

All day Naruto had run into her. On his way to train, out around town with friends, on his way to the missions center….everywhere. The whole thing was starting to freak him out and now this. Sighing he opened the door to his own apartment and prepared for a relaxing evening, free of reappearing women.

* * *

"I'm telling you Sakura, it was so weird. It's like she was following me or something." Naruto recounted the previous day's events as the two of them walked to meet up with their other friends. Apparently, there was a new batch of missions and they were all going to check in together at the center.

Sakura laughed, "I'm sure there's nothing to it. If she's moved in near you, then you're probably going to see her more often than not.", she said trying to reassure her friend.

When they reached the missions center, their friends were already waiting. Shikamaru, Ino, Choji. Kiba, shino and Hinata were there. Approaching from the other direction were Tenten, Neji and Lee. Sai was probably hanging out in the shadows.

The center was busy, the new missions being distributed to the village ninja. Making their way to the tables each team inquired into any assignments they may have been given. While he was waiting his turn Naruto looked around at the familiar faces, his eyes landing on one that had become much to familiar over the last few days. "What are you doing here?" he asked the woman, not even thinking.

Sakura heard Naruto speak and turned to see what he was up to. Standing there was the woman they had seen at the roman shop. "Naruto." She said smacking him on the head. "Don't be so rude!"

The woman just laughed before saying "It's ok, I'm tempted to ask you the same question. Seems we've been running into each other, huh?" she asked, her voice was soft and sweet.

"You could say that." Naruto said, remembering to be a little more polite now.

"My name is Suki Sano, by the way." The woman said extending her hand. "It's been a while since I've been here in the village."

Naruto shook her hand as he said, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki and this here is my friend and teammate Sakura Haruno." At this, he gestured toward her.

"I see, it's very nice to meet you." Suki said with a smile, "You're both Chunin then?" she asked looking them up and down for a moment.

"Yes, we work with Kakashi Hatake, our sensei when we were younger." Sakura answered.

"Ah, the famous copy Ninja." Suki said with a smile. "You two are very lucky."

Just then, Iruka appeared out of the crowd. "There you are Suki. I thought I'd lost you." He said before noticing who she was talking to. "Naruto, Saukura, it's nice to see you." He said with a smile.

"Hey, Iruka sensei!" Naruto greeted enthusiastically making the older man laugh.

"I see you've met Suki here. She's going to be assisting me at the academy." He said smiling at the woman next to him. Seeing the time, he said, "Speaking of which, we need to be going now."

"It was nice to meet the two of you." Suki said. Looking at the thinning line in front of the two younger Ninja she added "I hope you get something good."

Waving goodbye the older Ninjas made their way out of the room.

**AN2: Better? Worse? Please let me know, I really want this project to work out but I need to know what my readers think. I promise I read all my reviews and take the advice seriously. Press the pretty button, you know you want to!**


	3. A spar and introductions

**An: All right, here is chapter three. Thank you to those the few who found it in their hearts to review. I tried to make this one longer by combining two of my original chapters. I think they actually came together quite nicely. I know not much is happening here. I am simply trying to establish Suki as a character a bit more. The plot will start moving forward next chapter, I promise. I am sorry for skipping the spar but, as I've proven, I don't write fight scenes very well.** **As always, I love reviews to let me know how I'm doing.**

"Man, Sakura-chan, you've gotten so strong." Naruto said between deep breaths. "This is really good training." He said with a smile as the two of them sat under a tree to catch their breaths.

It had become habit for the two of them to spar during training when Kakashi wasn't around. They made an excellent team when he was there and they had to work together in matches against their sensei . Naruto was gaining more respect for his teammate's newfound abilities every day. He had been back for a good while now from his training trip and yet she still amazed him. She, of course, hadn't been the only one to grow and Naruto certainly threw her some challenges in their spars.

The two of them looked at each other, realizing how worn out the other was. They both began laughing at this. Originally, they were going to do some light sparing and call it a day; after all, they each had other things to do that day. Once they had gotten going though, it had turned into quite the challenge and neither had wanted to stop.

Suddenly a puff of smoke appeared on a tree branch in one of many trees surrounding them. When it cleared Suki was revealed, sitting on the branch in a rather child like way. Her long hair, in a braid today, could be seen swinging behind her.

"Oy, Suki-san, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, "Isn't class still going on?"

"Hokage-sama asked me to come. With most of the Jonin out on missions, including Kakashi and Yamato, she wanted to be sure that you were keeping up your training. Tsunade-sama may have some missions for you soon." Suki said with a smile.

"I can see the two of you are keeping each other in line just fine." She said dropping to the ground with little effort.

"Yes, we have been sparing regularly." Sakura said

"That's good, not only does it give you good training and make you stronger, but it also gives you a healthy respect for your teammates." Suki said, taking a seat cross-legged in front of them. Both nodded their understanding.

In the time since they had first met Suki, the two of them had gained a great respect for the pretty konochi. It was easy to forget she was jonin when she was confined to the village. Because she had been away for so long, she had to spend some time under probation. This was merely a precaution, not a single person the woman had worked with felt she was any danger. Most felt she should be out on missions now; seeing as the village had been so busy lately. On the occasions they had seen her sparing they had learned enough to know she was worthy of her rank.

Looking around Suki asked, "I may be counting wrong here but aren't there supposed to be three of you?"

"Sai opted out of this training session." Sakura said

"Ah, I see. That should be discouraged. A team needs to work together and that means training together." Suki said "Team work is the most important thing a team can develop. Without it, everyone is in much greater danger each time the team takes a mission."

Naruto laughed, "You're like a female version of Kakashi when it comes to teamwork." This earned him a smack from Sakura. Suki only laughed at their antics. "Besides, we have been training together. Sai just isn't here today." Naruto added.

Stretching out her arms behind her Suki stood up. "You guys aren't too tired to take me on are you?" she asked, "I'm dying for some good sparing."

Naruto jumped up at this and said, "I'm never too tired for a challenge." The two of them had twin grins that showed their excitement.

Sakura stood up, ready to go too. "Gesh, Suki is more like a more mature, female, version of you Naruto." She commented, putting her gloves back on. This earned her disbelieving looks from both Suki and Naruto.

Everyone took his or her places and Suki spoke, "Ready, begin!"

* * *

"You two really are strong Ninja." Suki said later as she was preparing to leave the training grounds. Naruto and Sakura were panting and resting against a tree. "Well on your way to becoming your best and some of the best this village will see." She said waving goodbye with much enthusiasm. Turning around she called back to them, "Would you like to meet for some ramen later?"

"I never say no to ramen!" Naruto called back, receiving a laugh from the retreating ninja.

"How does she still have that much energy?" Sakura asked Naruto in an exhausted tone. "Even you are wiped." She said looking at him.

"It's like she didn't even try." Naruto said, upset.

"At least she looks like she puts more effort in than Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said, "I think she just has good stamina like you. Besides, she is a strong Ninja. She wouldn't be a jonin if she couldn't handle the two of us." Sakura commented

"Still, I don't know how she does it." Naruto said. Having recovered somewhat, he stood.

"That's what a lot of people say about you Naruto." Sakura said with a fond smile. Her blond friend's stamina had never ceased to amaze her. His ability to keep going, even under the harshest conditions, had inspired many. It occurred to her that Suki was similar to Naruto on more than just that level. The woman seemed to have the same eagerness too. Come to think of it, she used a lot of moves today against Suki that she often had to use against Naruto.

* * *

A silver-haired jonin chuckled at his former student's comments. He had returned from a mission earlier that day and, after some rest, had come to check on his team. To his surprise, he had found Naruto and Sakura sparing with the new jonin in the village. Kakashi had not had the chance to say more than two words to the woman, yet alone see her in action. To be honest, the woman was good.

Certainly, she had her flaws just as anyone else but her fighting style seemed strong and her ability to adapt had saved her from Naruto's attacks several times. The thing about Naruto was that you never knew quite what to expect from him. Sure, people called him a knucklehead, but he had a way of surprising you. It seemed she worked well with his blonde-haired student. Perhaps she would do him a favor and teach the boy a thing or two.

* * *

"So you lived in the Land of Wind?" Naruto asked Suki in between slurps of ramen.

"Yes, I lived there for nearly ten years." Suki said with a smile. Naruto tended to have that effect on her. The boy, no matter how annoying he could be, was loveable.

"That must have been so cool!" he said with a grin. Suki was so cool! She had been everywhere and seemed to know something about everything.

"Actually, it was rather hot." Suki said, earning an annoyed look from Naruto.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the older woman's bad joke. She was just as bad as Naruto at times. Naruto was right though, living in the Land of Wind must have been quite interesting. "Wow, you must have learned so much about other cultures from traveling so much." Sakura said enthusiastically. Naruto's happiness at being at his favorite ramen shop and interesting stories from Suki was catching on.

"I suppose so." Suki said, "I didn't really think of it that way but I guess I did. I just wanted to see what each land had to offer." The older Ninja took a bite of her ramen, clearly enjoying it. "This is really good! I can always appreciate a good cup of ramen."

"I told you this was the best ramen around." Naruto said with a knowing smile on his face.

Sakura could not help but notice how well the two of them got along. It was as though they had known each other for a long time. It wasn't an odd occurrence for new people to slip into their lives like this anymore and yet this felt different.

"Why did you spend so much time in the Land of Wind?" Sakura asked as she continued her meal.

"Oh, that's where my father was from. My mother met him on a mission and I guess the rest is history." Suki said a sad but sweet smile on her face. "I've been told they loved each other very much. They both passed away when I was young so I don't really remember much about them."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Suki." Sakura said

"Don't be Sakura. It's something I accepted a long time ago and it's really more of a strengthening thing than saddening now." Suki said, "My parents left me many things that help make me who I am even if they aren't here."

Naruto and Sakura just nodded at this; there wasn't really anything to say.

After several moments of silence Suki spoke again "Well now, enough on that topic." She said, "Why don't you tell me more about you…"

Just then a voice interrupted her "Should have known I'd find you two here." The voice was soon followed by Kakashi ducking into the ramen stand.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Both Naruto and Sakura said.

Kakashi was happy to see his two students. It had been quite some time since he had actually had a chance to have any meaningful interaction with them. Although he could find himself exasperated upon spending great amounts of time with them (more like Naruto), he truly did care for his students. It was after he entered the ramen shop that he noticed that Sakura and Naruto were dining with the woman he had seen them with earlier. He had seen her around but hadn't spoken or come into contact with her. He wasn't even certain he knew her name. As he entered he could have sworn he saw a surprised look cross her face upon seeing him but in the blink of an eye it was gone.

Rubbing the back of his neck in his typical way the silver haired jonin gave a light chuckle and said "Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting?"

"Not at all Kakashi-sensei, we're just hanging out with Suki-san. She's been telling us about her adventures." Naruto said with his trademark grin.

Ah…so that was her name. Suki….now that brought back some memories. Stopping his mind from wandering Kakashi focused on the woman seated next to his students. She was pretty with dark brown eyes and long brown hair that reached far beyond her waist. 'She's not bad on the eyes', he thought. 'But not as pretty as _she_ was.' Another voice seemed to speak in his mind. Forcing himself, once again, back into reality he smiled at her, the affect somewhat lost with his mask.

"Naruto, they weren't adventures, just travels." Suki said in a correcting tone. Turning toward Kakashi she smiled "It's a pleasure to meet you Kakashi-san. I've heard a great deal about you from these two." She said nodding toward Naruto and Sakura. "My name is Suki Sano by the way, as Naruto so kindly introduced." She said with a laugh.

"I see, it's a pleasure to meet you as well Suki-san" Kakashi said, taking a seat next to the other three. "I certainly hope they don't spend all their time with you talking about me." He said

This produced angry looks from the two younger Ninja and a giggle from Suki. "Certainly not, Naruto spends the other half of his time talking about ramen." She said, making Sakura nearly snort out the last of her ramen. Naruto just sat there staring open mouthed at the older Ninja.

It wasn't long after this that Suki excused herself and made her way home. Team Kakashi deserved some time to catch up.

* * *

As she lay in bed that night Suki reflected upon the day. Part of her was overjoyed at being back and how close she was getting with Naruto and Sakura, the other part simply wanted to run. Her heart had ached for Konoha over the years and yet it was difficult to return to a place where she had lost so much. Seeing Kakashi again had made her heart skip a beat. To see him all grown up and the leader of his own team, it blew her mind. Of course, he hadn't recognized her. She simply didn't look like herself. No one knew who had truly returned to the village and she didn't plan on letting anyone know anytime soon.

* * *

Kakashi stood in front of the memorial stone, staring at the same names but thinking of another who wasn't on the stone. No, she had never received that honor and yet she was equally important in his mind. A picture of a pretty, blonde-haired, blue eyed, girl came into his mind. She was laughing and playing around, just as he always remembered her. Unfortunately that's all she was, just a memory.

Kakashi hadn't thought of her this much in a long time. Hearing her name again had brought her forward in his mind once again. Just a silly little girl who always seemed to get in the way during training and yet she was as sharp as a tack. Four years younger than the actual Ninja being trained and, half the time, she knew the answers before they did. Such potential, it was too bad she died before she had truly blossomed as the top of her class. Sighing, the jonin forced himself to turn and walk away from the stone. He definitely needed some sleep tonight.

**Hope the confusing feeling may have left you by now. I know you've not a clue where the plot is going but I hope the events of the chapter were clear, at least the parts that were ment to be. Please let me know what you think. I would love to be able to improve. That pretty button is calling to you...isn't it?**


	4. Story time

**AN: I'm putting this up early as a thank you to those who are taking the time to read my story. I appreciate the feedback that I've been getting and the encouragement. This is actually the most chapters that I've managed to get though in any of my stories. I know, I'm horrible at committing to my stories. I'm sticking with this one though. This one is supper long, at least for me, so don't expect the next chapter to be too long or get posted real soon.**

**AN2: I apologise for the other story that got posted in this chapter. My friend, who was helping me out as I was unable to get on the computer, accidently placed the wrong document here. Sigh...I'm gonna go chew her out now...how could you not tell that what was here didn't fit?**

**The real chapter:**

"Come on Naruto, I know you can do better than that!" Suki said, her breathing slightly heavy. "You're so much stronger than that, think smarter, move faster." The older Ninja said, both provoking her student and giving advice. The only response she received was an angry growl from Naruto.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Naruto said, making several clones of himself, all of which disappeared along with the original into the forest surrounding the training area.

"Clones, that's not very creative Naruto." Suki said mockingly putting her hands on her hips like a scolding mother. "Better do something interesting with them." She added.

Her eyes scanned the area, trying to find the blonde-haired boy and his clones. Hum…he was doing a good job of hiding. 'Ah,' she thought, spotting two of them 'Looks like he's managed to keep the other three hidden from me. Wonder if he intended me to see those two?' Sensing something coming at her from the opposite direction, she got her answer. Suddenly Naruto came plowing into her with a strong punch followed by a well-placed kick. With that, Suki disappeared in a puff of smoke, along with four of the clones Naruto had created. How had she done that? Now he and his last clone stood there, trying to think his next move through.

Naruto cursed, realizing he'd been tricked. He'd never realized how annoying his own technique could be. Suki was nearly as talented as he was when it came to creating clones. 'Wait,' he thought, as something occurred to him 'I only made four clones…' Just then, something sharp could be felt pressing against his neck. "Looks like you lose." He heard his own voice say as the weapon was removed, the training session over.

Turning he saw himself looking back at him, a smug grin on his face. The image slowly melted away and there stood Suki, the smug grin still on her face. "Well now, you did quite well until you let me get so close by forgetting something as simple as the number of shadow clones you created." She said in a scolding voice. Naruto simply glared at her, knowing she had won fairly and he had made a mistake.

"Hey, don't be so upset." Suki said, all smugness gone. "This is why we train, especially with those who have greater knowledge than us." She added, a kind smile crossing her face.

Naruto nodded, already having learned from his mistake. It was not one he would make again(well, he would try, we all know Naruto better than that).

"I just wish, for once, that I could actually beat you." He said in a frustrated tone.

"Keep training and learn my weaknesses and you will." Suki said in a serious tone "You are very strong Naruto, it just takes time to concentrate that strength into something more controlled. You are still learning and will always be learning." She said "In fact you've taught me a thing or two." She added with a wink.

"I…what?" Naruto asked

"You've taught me some new ways to use my shadow clones." Suki said, "I guess it's not that I didn't know how to use them effectively but you've reminded me, even if it's used in a simple way, it can be effective. Besides, the way you use your shadow clones is fairly unique because so few Ninja have the chakra to keep that technique up."

"Ah…so I've taught you to use shadow clones better?" Naruto asked. Before Suki could respond, Naruto said, "I must be really good if I'm showing an excellent ninja like you something."

Suki just rolled her eyes "Naruto, I still just beat you with your own technique. Don't get so cocky. Thinking you're better than others only makes you weaker." She said sitting down against a tree and drinking some water.

"That's good advice." A voice said as Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said in greeting. Suki just waved.

Kakashi just raised his hand in greeting. "I should have known I'd find you two together. Tsunade-sama has asked team Kakashi to come to her office. She has a mission for us." He said

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed, "Granny Tsunade had better give us something good."

"I guess I'll see you later then Naruto. Good luck on your mission." Suki said, giving the boy a wide smile.

"Tsunade-sama requested that you join us Suki." Kakashi added, almost as an afterthought.

"Oh, I see." Suki said standing up. "Guess I'll be staying with you then." Suki ruffled Naruto's hair as she walked by him to follow Kakashi to Hokage tower.

* * *

"I see you're all here. Thanks for coming on such short notice." Tsunade said, looking over all the Ninja in front of her.

"Usually I would give this type of mission to a more experienced team but I think you all can handle this." Tsunade said "Things have been very stretched around here so I'm depending on you."

Team Kakashi nodded their understanding, Naruto saying something about being ready. "We have a spy in the Akatsuki organization who will be needing escorts back to the village in order to insure his safety."

"Master, if we have a spy in that organization why would we pull him?" Sakura asked in the most polite yet questioning voice she could.

"He feels that he is close to getting caught or possibly has already been caught so we are pulling him for his safety and for whatever information he was able to gain." Tsunade said, answering her student's question.

"In addition to the four of you I'm sending Suki for extra support. I understand that she has been training with the three of you." Tsunade said, indicating the three younger members of the team. "I hope that means you all will treat her with the respect she deserves."

Looking at Suki and Kakashi Tsunade continued. "This is your first mission since returning to the village Suki. Usually I would test the waters a bit more but we simply don't have the time. I trust you will be ready for this and follow the lead of Kakashi. If this goes well I'll bring you up to regular status, you'll be assigned missions regularly and your probation period will be over. Is this understood?"

"Hai, I will do my part Tsunade-sama." Suki said with great respect in her voice.

"Alright, I'll give the details to Kakashi. You are dismissed." Tsunade said.

Once outside Kakashi turned to his team and said "I want you all to be ready to go by sunset tonight. Meet at the front gates and don't be late."

Nodding to this Sai, Naruto and Sakura all headed toward their homes. Suki was just about to head out herself when Kakashi stopped her.

"Suki, I'd like to go over the details with you; if you don't mind." He said, "It won't take very long. You'll have plenty of time to get ready."

Suki was a bit surprised, wasn't she supposed to be acting as a subordinate to Kakashi? "Of course Kakashi, I don't mind at all." She said. The woman didn't show it but she was nervous. She hadn't seen Kakashi in years and, although he didn't know who he was truly with, her stomach did a flip at the thought of having to spend time with just him.

"I know a quiet tea shop a few streets over. Why don't we go there to discuss the mission?" Kakashi said, already walking in that direction.

Suki wasn't sure what to say so she walked in silence beside him. Her long braid swung behind her, swishing back and forth. Her nerves receded, little by little, as she walked with the older jonin. His presence was familiar, comforting to her in a way.

Once they had entered the teashop and ordered Suki decided to break the silence. "It's an honor to work with you and your team. I hope I'll be of assistance." She said.

"Oh, I've got no doubts about you Suki, I won't have to worry about you at all." Kakashi said, with what she assumed was a smile. "That's why I'm going over this with you. You're not on this mission to be baby sat, even if Tsunade will be asking about your performance. I'm treating you as I see you and that's a capable jonin whom will help me lead if necessary."

Suki nodded at this. Kakashi was someone she had great respect for, hence her fear of being alone with the man. Kami forbid she got caught, he'd be the one who figured her out. In her own way, Suki was flattered.

"Now, let's get down to business…."

* * *

Naruto sighed as he sat waiting for Kakashi and Suki to show up. He, Sakura and Sai had all arrived either early or on time and were now waiting for the two older Ninja. They were not at all excited that Suki was late; no one needed another team member who was perpetually late. The sun was now below the horizon and the sky rapidly darkening. What exactly had Kakashi been thinking? Suddenly a voice came from behind them "Oy, what's got all of you so down?"

Turning around to see the voices owner, they found Suki sitting on the wall behind them. She sat there swinging her legs in a very childish manner. Her hair was in two braids today, only adding to the childish effect. Naruto just glared at her, angry that she was acting so casual about being late. Letting out a giggle she said, "Don't tell me you're upset about Kakashi being late. You'd think you'd learn to just show up late too."

"How did you know about Kakashi-sensei being late?" Naruto asked

'Because I know him better than you might think' Suki thought to herself. Laughing she said, "I've been warned by some of the Ninja around the village."

To her relief the three younger Ninja shrugged this off and turned to wait for their leader. It wasn't much later that Kakashi showed up and received the grumblings of his students. Together team Kakashi headed out into the night.

* * *

"Suki, tell us a story about Suna." Naruto said, getting bored as they walked down the moonlit path.

"Naruto!" Sakura said hitting him on the shoulder. "That was rude!"

"Ouch, Sakura-chan do you really need to hit me that hard?" Naruto wined

"A story would be nice; it's so quite out here." Sai commented "That is, if you don't mind Suki-san"

Kakashi stayed silent as they walked. He noted how close the other four already seemed. Even though she had not been around for long, Suki had gained the trust and respect of his students. Yet, she managed to keep the relationship causal, really more of a friendship than anything. They didn't even call her sensei when she clearly had been playing teacher to them when he couldn't be there. It was curious to him, how quickly and efficiently she managed to fit in.

"I guess I could tell you a story." Suki said quietly "I'm not really sure what to tell the story about though. I'm not really a good story teller anyway."

"Do they have any interesting legends in Suna?" Sakura asked

"Hum…there are quite a few legends in Suna." Suki said, thinking as she walked. "Oh, I know the perfect one!"

"Alright, let's hear it then!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Ok, this is the story of the spirit sands." Suki began. "The people of Suna like to tell the tale of what they call the spirit sands. They say these sands are both blessed and cursed by the spirits of the ancestors."

"Wait, the sands hold the spirits of the ancestors?" Sakura asked

"Yes, and like the ancestors themselves, it is both good and evil." Suki said continuing, "They say this special sand blows across the desert and is never found in the same place twice. Some say that when they became lost in the desert it was this sand that guided them home. The wind picks ups around them and the sand began to swirl about. Some just became calm and suddenly knew the way. Others say it has taken the form of an older couple. Some have seen the old man, others an old woman whom they believe to be his wife."

"Wait, are you saying this sand helps people?" Naruto asked

"Yes, it's guided many a lost soul home. One young boy said that the old woman took his hand and walked him back to his village. When he turned around the thank her she was gone."

"I thought you said that this sand was cursed?" Sai asked

"Oh, it is." Suki said in a scary voice. "You see, all these people whom it helped were good people. They say this sand has attacked evil people. Thief's have been found dead after unexpected and unexplainable sand storms struck them. They say it is the ancestors protecting the land, good and bad want the people to survive and continue the proud traditions."

"Spirit sands? Yeah, like that's real." Naruto said rolling his eyes

"How would you know Naruto?" Kakashi asked, "They have a similar legend about the woods surrounding Konoha." He commented, "The third Hokage told me, once, when he was a child, he became lost in the woods. An old woman appeared out of nowhere and walked him home. Before he could thank her, she was gone. Later, his mother was showing him pictures of his grandmother and he recognized her as the woman who had brought him home. The thing was; she had been dead for years." Kakashi ended the story with a mysterious tone.

"Oh, wow." Sakura said with a smile on her face. Suddenly the smile broke into a yawn. Stretching her arms above her head, the pink haired konochi looked up at the stars. The moon was just coming out of its new phase and was just a small sliver in the sky; by now, it had already set. It must have been one in the morning; they had been walking for quite some time.

"Kakashi, don't you think it's time we stopped and rested for awhile?" Suki asked, seeing the tired looks on Sakura and Naruto's faces. "It wouldn't do for us to be dead on our feet tomorrow." She said

"Hum…I guess you're right." Kakashi said, seeing how tired his students were. "Let's find a place and get some sleep." He said, coming off the path and into the brush surrounding the area. Soon enough the group found a place to sleep and all of them were out within a short time of lying down.

* * *

Suki was dreaming, a pleasant dream about when she had been a little girl. Her mother was in the kitchen baking and she was running around excited about the cookie dough she had just helped mix and the warm cookies she would soon be enjoying. A smile crossed her face as she dreamt. Suddenly her mouth turned down in a frown and her forehead creased.

Her dream had suddenly changed. Whatever it was was rather upsetting to her because she began moving in her sleep. "Sauske." She moaned; a tear slid down her cheek. The rest of the group, except for a certain silver haired jonin, missed all of this. He gave her an odd look. How did she know Sauske? What was she dreaming about that made her so sad?

* * *

After another day of travel, the group was approaching the rendezvous point. The sun had just set behind the horizon when Kakashi began to speak. "I want you all to be prepared. We will reach the meeting point shortly. This could very well turn into an ambush so be alert." Everyone nodded his or her understanding. "Should be find ourselves in a battle situation I want Naruto and Sai to team up, Sakura, stick close to Suki, we don't want you getting hurt, you are our only medical nin. I'll come in where ever needed."

"Hai."The group responded, understanding Kakashi's instructions.

The place was quite when they arrived at the meeting spot. Something definitely felt wrong. Then they spotted the body, hanging in one of the trees. "Is that…?" Naruto began.

"Everyone, be ready." Kakashi said, searching the landscape. Suddenly an explosion rocked the area.

**Sigh…I hope the whole spirit sands thing wasn't too corny. That type of story is universal so I thought it fit well. **

**I hope you know I am receiving great joy in keeping everyone in the dark about Suki. Don't worry, I think some answers are coming soon. I've been dropping lots of hints about where she fits into the Naruto story. Who knows…maybe you'll figure it out before team 7.**


	5. A Mission

**AN: Sigh…wow, this chapter took a lot of time, both the write(as I recall) and to edit. I can't seem to decide on certain things. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I did my best with the fight, I didn't write out too much of it as not to torture you all. Hope you enjoy!**

A clay spider came crawling out of the brush, heading toward the group. Everyone moved to get away from it. Naruto grabbed the back of Suki's shirt, pulling her away with him. She was the only one in the group who hadn't seen this type of clay creature before. When the spider exploded, she figured out why everyone had backed off.

"Well, that's interesting." She commented, looking at the destroyed area where the spider had been.

"Deidara" Kakashi said, looking for the troublesome blonde.

Naruto looked pissed off, he scanned the area with the others, trying to find the Akatsuki member.

"So, he was right about being caught." Suki said, looking at the body hanging in the tree. "I doubt they're just going to let us just walk away."

"Oh, I'd highly doubt that." A voice said from above. There, on a great clay bird, stood Deidara.

A showering of explosive clay creatures came raining down on them. "Crap." Suki heard Naruto say as they all dodged in different directions, avoiding the series of explosions that followed.

Suddenly, a group of ink creatures, courtesy of Sai, headed toward Deidara as a distraction.

Suki moved to stand with Sakura, ready to work with the pink haired konochi. The two of them hung back, letting the boys attack Deidara. Naruto let the other two work on moving the Akatsuki member into a closer range situation that would benefit him.

Suki, reached into her weapons pouch, pulled out a shuriken, and opened it. Using Kage Shuriken no Jutsu, she threw it at the enemy ninja. Sure, she could do something much more advanced but she needed to hang back and be the backup so she settled for this rather basic tactic. She just hoped the second shuriken would hit its target. Luck was on her side, between the boys as a distraction and the hidden shuriken; she managed to take off one of the great birds wings.

Deidara and the bird came crashing to the ground. Naruto went at him with his rasengan, hitting the Akatsuki member directly. Deidara simply melted into a pile of mush, having replaced himself with his special clay.

"Dam it!" Naruto said.

The group looked around, trying to find the elusive enemy but there was no sign of life other than themselves. Suki looked at her team members; it appeared that everyone was relatively untouched. Was this guy just playing around with them? She knew the Akatsuki were capable of much better than this.

As she examined Kakashi, she found something disturbing. Climbing up his back was one of the clay spiders. "Kakashi, there's a spider!" she cried out, running forward. There was no way she was letting anything happen to him. Kakashi immediately replaced himself just as the spider exploded. He appeared next to the concerned Suki. "Thanks." He said, never taking his eyes off the landscape. How had he not seen or felt the creature.

It was then that Suki felt something crawling on her leg. Looking down she realized that another spider was now on her. Where were the dam creatures coming from? With Kakashi next to her, she couldn't just replace herself, he'd get hurt. Reaching down at almost inhuman speed, she grabbed the offending creature and flung it away from her and Kakashi. Seeing what she was doing, Kakashi moved away from the explosion but Suki took the full brunt of it. Flying across the clearing Suki was flung against a tree. Slumping to the ground the jonin fell to her knees.

"Suki!" Sakura cried, running to her side. Naruto looked like he wanted to run to her side but was stopped by Kakashi. "Let Sakura take care of her, stay focused." He said. Nodding, Naruto turned back to the landscape. Sai, who had sent his ink mice out, pointed them toward where Deidara was hiding and they headed out to track the enemy down.

Sakura, knelt next to her friend, examining the woman for any serious injuries. "Suki, are you ok?" she asked. Suki's eyes lifted to meet Sakura's green ones. "I think so." She straightened herself out. When she tried to move her arm, she cringed, glancing down at her side. "I think I might have broken a rib." Sakura immediately brought her hand to Suki's side. "Yep, definitely broken" she said. Looking up at the surrounding clearing Suki tried to figure out where the boys had run off. Suddenly she was hit by a wave of dizziness and the whole clearing looked as though it was moving. Looking back at Sakura, she tried to speak but couldn't find the words. Suki watched her world become black before finally passing out.

Sakura caught her unconscious friend, laying her gently on the ground. When she took her hand away from the back of Suki's head, she became aware of something hot and wet on her hands. Looking down she saw that her fingers were covered in blood. Lifting Suki's head, she found an ugly looking gash. Quickly bringing her hand to the wound Sakura began healing her, hoping that she hadn't lost too much blood.

* * *

"I can't believe he got away." Naruto cried, clearly upset

"At least everyone's ok and he certainly won't be coming after us again right away." Kakashi mmente as they ran back to where they had left their two female comrades.

They found Sakura with an unconscious Suki. "Is she ok?" Naruto asked, kneeling down next to her. "Yes, she'll be fine. She took a nasty hit to her head when she hit the tree, though." Sakura said, looking at the older ninja with concern, wishing she could do more for her. Looking up at Kakashi she added "She also has several broken ribs and a sprained wrist." Kakashi simply nodded and looked around them.

"Well, we can't stay here. We'll have to move, and quickly." Everyone looked at the passed out konochi and wondered how they were going to do this. "Can we move her or wake her up?" He asked his former student.

"She's going to be out for a while. I'm not sure how she stayed conscious as long as she did." Sakura said. "We can move her, but it needs to be carefully." She added.

"What was she thinking?" Sakura muttered to herself as she tried to secure Suki's bandages to make travel as easy as possible.

"I believe Suki was attempting to protect Kakashi." Sai, who had been rather quiet on this mission, observed. "I wouldn't expect that kind of mistake from a konochi of her rank." He added.

Naruto looked up a Sai and glared. "So, you think she should have let him get hurt?" the blonde inquired.

"No, not at all."Sai said, realizing he had said something to upset his teammate unintentionally. It appeared to him he would need to elaborate for his blonde haired teammate. "I meant to imply that she should have trusted Kakashi to move away quickly enough. If she had she wouldn't be hurt right now and the team's safety wouldn't be in question."

"Sai is right Naruto, but now's not the time to be talking about that." Sakura remarked as she looked up from finishing her preparation work. "Suki is ready to be moved." The young woman added, looking up at Kakashi.

Kakashi listened to his former students conversation. Not feeling the need to become involved he simply let them talk it out. Sai had a point, what Suki had done was not what a ninja of her rank should have done. At the same time, it was good to know she was looking out for everyone. Still, she didn't seem the type who would take that kind of risk. The best path for all was to trust her fellow Jonin to move in time. Why would she want to protect him so strongly?

The silver-haired Jonin put these thoughts to the back of his mind as Sakura gave him the ok to move the unconscious woman. "Let's go, there's nothing left for us to do here. I'm certain the Akatsuki won't be back in the area." He commanded, taking in his surroundings one last time. Bending down he picked up the unmoving woman and headed back in the direction from which they had come.

* * *

Suki could see only blackness but the voices around her told her she was not alone. Slowly she began to awaken, becoming acutely aware of her pounding head. Oh, Kami, what in the world happened? Her eyes weren't even open and yet she somehow felt dizzy. It was dark outside, that she could tell because of how little light was trying to make its way through her eyelids.

She took a deep breath in order to help her mind bring some sense to the situation. This, Suki quickly learned, was a mistake. The moment her chest expanded, she was reminded of her broken ribs. Cringing she made note not to do that again. Apparently, the change of facial expression had gotten the attention of those around her because the voices came closer.

"Suki-san!" she heard the familiar voice of Naruto practically shout. With painful slowness Suki lifted her eyelids, taking in a dimly lit room. Nothing else registered with the Jonin at the moment; her vision hadn't yet cleared.

"Naruto, please don't shout." She muttered "I'm not deaf."

A few blinks later, the room came into focus. Naruto and Sakura were both kneeling over her. Sakura was apparently checking her injuries. "Suki-san, how do you feel?" she inquired, clearly in medical mode at the moment.

"I've been better." Suki admitted but gave the pink-haired young woman a smile. "I'll be fine though."

Sakura continued to look the older woman over. "Do you think you can sit up?" Sakura asked. Suki nodded her head and gradually propped herself up with her arms. She only hesitated for a moment as she pushed herself up because her side gave a painful twinge.

Seeing Kakashi standing behind the two younger nin Suki quickly adverted her eyes. Already the events that put her in this condition had come back to her. It was only now that she second-guessed her choices. At the time she had made them, the answers seemed so clear.

Suki's eyes roamed the room as they determinedly tried to stay off of silver-haired man in front of her. This wasn't any place she recognized. It looked like a room one might find at an inn. Thinking about it, she realized it probably was just that.

Kakashi did not miss Suki's avoidance of his person. Was she concerned about what had happened? Surely, she wasn't already thinking of such things after just waking up. There would be time later to discuss such things; he had already decided that. Although, if she was already showing signs of understanding her mistake, then perhaps no discussion was needed. Suki was a plenty capable ninja and would surely come to her own decision on how to interpret her actions.

"How long was I out?" Suki questioned. Wondering if she had lost them much time.

"Only a few hours. I'm surprised you're already awake with the hit you took to your head." Kakashi answered, hopping she would at least look at him. For some reason, it bothered him that she wouldn't. At any rate, it would be bad if there were issues between the two of them as he got the feeling he would be working with the woman in the future.

"We decided to stop here for the evening so we could get some rest." He added.

Sakura walked away for a moment and came back with a small tray of food and a glass of water. "You need to eat Suki-san. It will help keep your energy up." As Sakura brought the food closer to her, the smell struck Suki. Suddenly her stomach flipped and Suki was hit with a want to gag. Apparently, she was still feeling the effects of hitting her head.

Seeing that it was only a light, broth like, soup she decided to give it a try. As she sipped at the soup Suki decided Sakura needed to know. "I was feeling a bit dizzy earlier and my stomach is acting up. I probably have a concussion." She informed.

"I'm not surprised. With that gash on your head I'm guessing your head took a hard hit. Hope you weren't planning on a good night's sleep." Sakura remarked. At least the food seemed to be settling ok.

"Well, I may not be sleeping well tonight but that doesn't mean you all should be losing any." Suki said. "Why don't you all get some rest?"

"Someone needs to check on you every few hours, just to be sure your concussion isn't worse than we think." Sakura replied, giving Suki a stern look. "It's bad enough you passed out earlier, but you really could have gotten yourself hurt."

Suki smiled at Sakura before bowing her head slightly "I know; I've seen concussions before. I'm sure I'll be fine though."

"No buts Suki, please, just let me take care of you." Sakura reprimanded, making everyone smile. The pink-haired young woman was a persistent caregiver.

"Sakura, you've already tired yourself healing Suki. Why don't you let me check up on her tonight?" Kakashi requested, knowing Sakura deserved the rest and wanting a chance to speak with his fellow Jonin.

Sakura knew better than to argue with the tone Kakashi had used. It was more like an order than a request but of course, he would never be rude about it. Apparently, he had a good reason for the request and who was she to argue when she was exhausted.

"Alright, just wake her every few hours. If she won't wake, is disoriented or can't remember what happened please come wake me up." Sakura said before grabbing Naruto by the collar and leaving for the evening.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined as he waved goodnight to his former sensei and Suki.

Suki laughed after the two were gone. "You've taught them well." She commented, "They make good teammates."

"Do they?" Kakashi asked of in an offhanded way.

Suki just rolled her eyes. "So, what exactly happened after I blacked out?" the woman questioned. This might be dangerous territory to cover, with her having gotten herself hurt but she needed to know.

"Naruto, Sai and I all went after him. It didn't take long for him to lose us. I'm guessing they weren't really after anything with our group." Kakashi said

"But, with Naruto with us, shouldn't they have put up a better fight?" Suki asked, "Isn't he what they are after?"

Kakashi wondered how Suki knew so much about Naruto but said nothing. Perhaps she had simply been told certain things by the other Jonin when they found out she was working with the boy. "Yes, I suppose they would usually put up a better fight but we can never tell with the Akatsuki. It's been a while since they've dealt with Naruto so they might have been assessing what changes may have occurred."

And a great deal had changed. Kakashi had cautioned Naruto about using his newly developed skills unless necessary. It would be best to save the surprise for the opportune moment. Amazingly, the boy had managed not to let his emotions override the desire to use his new skills to the best of his advantage. Sighing the Jonin settled himself against the wall, facing Suki. She had laid down and closed her eyes but was clearly not asleep.

"He's gotten to you too…Naruto?" Kakashi asked, "The boy has this way of drawing people in, making them care."

A soft chuckle came from the resting figure in front of him. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Naruto is something else, that's for sure." 'You've no clue just what the boy means to me.' Suki thought but then thought better of it. 'Nah, you probably feel the same way…being so close to him for so long.' Slowly the world faded and she fell into her dream world.

Kakashi listened as Suki's breathing became even and watched her body relax. Clearly, sleep had captured the konochi. Unfortunately, sleep did not find the Sliver-haired Jonin with such ease. Kakashi let his mind wander over whatever path it decided to choose. Movement from Suki brought him back to reality.

Her body was tense and her face contorted into an expression of concern. "No…don't…Sauske." She muttered. There it was again…Sauske's name coming up in her sleep. Kakashi frowned, as much as he liked the woman's personality, there was something wrong. He had a feeling there were things she was keeping from everyone. Pondering this, he allowed himself to relax again. With her in the condition she was in and being so far from the village now was not the time to question her.

* * *

"What was the meaning of that Uchiha?"Deidara questioned his fellow Akatsuki member. "Why in the world did I need to back off?"

Somewhere far away Itachi gave an angry scowl. "Does it matter why? I felt there was good reason; do you not trust me to have the group's best interest in mind?"

"Ha, no one here really trusts each other." Deidara replied, "If you have a reason please do share. I'm curious." Getting no response, he pressed, "Was it the girl? You didn't get involved until I hurt her. It's not like you to mettle in the business of others or even pay attention to what others are doing miles away from you."

"It doesn't matter, stop asking or you'll regret it." Was the only response the blonde-haired Akatsuki member received.

**Well… good, bad, getting too confusing? Please let me know what you think. I apologize for any grammatical errors. I did my best to check it over but I did finish this late last night. Review Please! **


	6. Who are you?

**AN: So, I did not get a single review on the last chapter. Is this really that bad? I'd be tempted to discontinue the story if I didn't enjoy writing it so much and didn't find myself so fascinated by the plot. I toy around with story lines and how to make this and that happen a lot with this story so I don't always know exactly where this is going myself. Please, if it's not holding your interest or something in particular is turning you off tell me in a review. If it is that bad I'll just write it for my own pleasure and leave it where it belongs, in a file on my computer where only I can see.**

"Suki-san, I'm so glad you're feeling better." Sakura said as she sat, toying with her ramen with chopsticks. As usual, Naruto had dragged them to the romen stand. Sakura was never bothered much by this, as it had simply become a routine part of spending time with her blonde haired friend. To be honest she found it rather relaxing after a day of training, with either Tsunade or her team, or a day at the hospital healing.

"Thanks to your excellent care giving." Suki complemented. "You are an amazing healer already; I can't wait to see how much that ability will grow." Sakura's skills were worthy of the praise. Tsunade had certainly trained her well. Adjusting her position on her stool, Suki was reminded of her still wrapped ribs. They were healing quickly but would still need a bit more time to fully fix themselves.

"It's true Sakura-chan; you're amazing." Naruto managed to comment in between inhaling his romen.

"Thank you. I did what I could to help." Sakura blushed at the compliments she received. She often felt weak and worthless when she thought about her early ninja days and Sauske. To hear those whom she respected telling her that they thought her skills incredible made her feel like she had made progress. She was not the same little girl who started out on team 7.

Suki noticed a certain look come to the younger konochi's eyes at the thoughts that crossed her mind with the compliments. Sakura did not know it but Suki could relate to her on a deeper level than she could imagine. Unfortunately, when one tangles themselves with a family of fire they often get burnt. This was part of why Suki was always sure to give the pink-haired young woman the compliments, which she earned. Even if she had not been around long, Suki cared for her younger friends, almost as an older sister might. The girl needs to stop blaming herself and thinking of herself as a weak girl. Suki could see the strong woman that was quickly blooming in front of them all.

"So, will you be back on missions soon Suki-san?" Naruto asked, having finished his meal. He was eager to have her back to normal so that they could spar again. Suki was a lot of fun and she always managed to put things in a way he understood.

"Another week and I'll be able to take missions and come back to training with you. That is, if you still want me to." The longhaired konochi teased. Naruto gave her a joking grin that said, 'of course I want you to. It wouldn't be nearly as much without you.'

"I swear you two could be related." Sakura remarked with a smirk.

Both Naruto and Suki gave her looks that held a mix of alarm and disbelief.

Looking out at a rising full moon they realized that it was getting late. Saying their goodnights the three of them headed out. Suki waved goodbye to Sakura and Naruto as they headed off together. Naruto had offered to walk Sakura home.

With a smile still on her face Suki walked the other direction. The night was still young and the temperature perfect so she decided to go for a walk. It was a beautiful night. With such clear skies, the konochi could see many stars once she got away from the lights. Finding herself in a field she decided to lay down and star gaze. 'Hum, I wonder how many constellations I can find?' she thought as she examined the sky. Spotting a particularly bright star toward the south, she tried to figure out what it was. It must be a planet but she didn't know which one it might be. Judging by the coloring, it might be Jupiter or possibly Venus. Chuckling to herself, she realized it had been a while since she had studied Astronomy. Adding to her difficulty, she had done her studies in Suna and was completely off base here in Konoha.

The night became quiet as she lay pondering. Many things about being back in Konoha threw her off; the stars were small compared to the other difficulties she was facing. To be around Naruto made her happy, and she had great pride in her blonde friend. Yet, in a way, it was painful. Sakura had become very close to her heart too. Those were the easy relationships to build compared to some others. It was becoming increasing difficult to build one with Kakashi. So far, they had a decent working relationship but Suki wished she could expand it. He was more closed off now than he had been before and what had made them friends once didn't play the same role it used too. Suki had begun to wonder if he had become suspicious of her. Everything had changed around her. "Guess that's what I get for running away. I need to stay now, I've already started this." She muttered to the cool night air.

Suddenly there was a rustling in the grass she was laying in. Suki began to sit up in so she could see who it was but found herself being pushed roughly to the ground. Biting her lip to stop herself from crying out at the pain that shot up her side the woman tried to figure out what was happening. Her arms were now being held above her head, making her side continue to ache, and someone had straddled themselves over her waist. Sure, she could probably get herself out of the situation rather quickly but that didn't really change her comfort level.

Looking at the man's face she could make out a mask and one grey eye. There was only one man she knew of that fit that description. "Kakashi?" she questioned.

Kakashi just looked down and the woman below him for a moment. He had been expecting her to struggle. In the time since his team had returned from the mission he had been following Suki and doing some research. Everywhere he looked, he became more confused and more suspicious of the pretty jonin. Not only were there no records on her but her mother was nowhere to be found in the archives either. If she had lived here when she was younger and was the daughter of a village ninja there should have been records. Add this to her uncanny ability to know more than she should and the way she was working her way into the group and he had become certain she had ulterior motives that probably meant nothing good for the village. When he heard her whisper something about running away and already starting this he had decided it was time to question her.

"You're not who you say you are." He said, keeping alert despite her apparent complacentness.

Suki's heart just about stopped when she heard him speak. In the back of her mind she realized how ironic it was that she had picked him out as the one most likely to catch her. "Kakashi, what are you talking about?" she inquired, giving no hint that she had been caught. She allowed her voice to waver slightly, adding to the effect of being confused.

"There's no record of you or your family. You know more about everyone than you should and you keep trying to get closer to my team." Kakashi replied in a harsher voice. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt them and no one will be taking Naruto from this village on my watch." He continued, his protectiveness was coming out. These were his former students, his friends and his family. He might not admit it openly but he had developed a defensive streak when it came to his team.

"Why would I want to hurt them?" Suki questioned. "I'd rather be hurt myself than let anyone bring harm to Sakura and Naruto but they are plenty capable of taking care of themselves." The only options she really had were to run or talk this out. The later would produce less trouble for her in the end.

Kakashi was confused by this. As far as he could tell, she was being honest with him. "What's your real name?" he tried

"Suki Sano." She answered with a twitch of a smile on her lips. "Why would I lie?"

"Why is there no record of you?" Kakashi asked, tightening his grip on her wrist.

Glaring up at him she said, "That hurts you know." Getting no response out of him, she sighed. "Maybe because that's not the last name I had when I lived here."

"What was the surname you used then?" Kakashi asked.

"You don't need me to tell you that Kakashi. You already know it." Suki replied with a smirk.

"I'm not here to play games." Kakashi said in a deadly tone.

"Awa…that's too bad. I always loved playing mind games with you." Suki remarked.

Before Kakashi knew what was happening she was suddenly the one on top of him. Unlike himself however she hadn't tried to keep any of her body weight off of him. With her sitting on his stomach, he found it difficult to breath. "Honestly, how long did you think I was just going to lie there?" Suki inquired of him.

Kakashi tried to move but found that Suki was quite strong. She laughed as she felt his movements. "You got yourself into this." She said, "Now it's my turn to speak so just lay there and listen. I'm sure you're a lot more comfortable than I was. Did you forget about my ribs?" she put more pressure on his wrist to emphasize the comfort part. Kakashi just looked up at her with an angry glare.

"Just as stubborn as ever." She commented, "I figured you might catch on to me. It's not exactly easy to outsmart you."

Kakashi's eyes widened at what Suki did next. It looked like her features were melting away, being replaced by others. Slowly her long, straight, brown hair morphed into curls and became a yellow with which Kakashi was quite familiar. Cerulean eyes stared down at him in place of dark brown and her skin, as far as he could tell in the dark, had become more tan. With this came the feeling of her real chakra. It was an old and familiar one to him.

The silver-haired jonin was speechless, he felt like he was looking at a ghost.

"Well, does this answer your questions Kakashi?" Suki asked

"Suki?" was all he could manage at first. She gave him a smile and a nod. She could not be sure how he was going to take this. "But you're…"

"Dead?" she whispered, causing both of them to shiver. "I know it's difficult to believe but I think this kinda disproves that theory." She said looking down at her body.

He chuckled, "I guess it does."

"So, you believe that it's me?" she asked

"Yes, I couldn't possibly forget your chakra." He said.

"I'm sorry that I had to hide this from you." Suki replied in a sad tone. "There are certain things I and this town aren't ready for."

"I can imagine." Kakashi responded "I see your disguising skills have only improved."

This got a laugh out of the younger konochi. "When you disappear for 18 years that tends to happen."

"And what about you." She continued, " You've certainly changed." She reached down and her fingers brushed the headband that covered Kakashi's sharingon."

"It's been a long time, we've both grown up." He said

"You were already starting to grow up when I left." She commented

"That's what happens when you spend all your time with people who are older than you." Kakashi replied.

Realizing that she was still straddled over her friend Suki blushed. "I suppose I should let you go now." She said pushing herself up and sliding to the side so she was now sitting next to Kakashi.

Kakashi sat up and scratched the back of his head, as was habit. "I certainly wasn't expecting this when I came out here tonight."

"I wasn't expecting to reveal myself for a while yet." Suki said, looking up at the stars.

"No one else knows?" Kakashi asked

"No, you're the first one." She said

Looking up at the stars Kakashi thought about what he had just discovered. Suddenly began to chuckle. "You think he's laughing at us right now?"

Snorting Suki now understood what was so funny. "I'm certain that he is laughing at his silly niece and his old student somewhere."

Turning serious, she looked over at Kakashi, "You understand why I didn't tell anyone, right?"

Nodding the silver-haired man let out a sigh, "I know why you can't just reveal yourself now, that would be dangerous but…why did…"

"I leave?" She cut him off. "I don't really want to go into detail. Let's just say I was running from my own demons. There is only so much a ten year old can handle."

"Naruto…why are you trying to get so close to him." He inquired.

"Why not? He's a loveable kid with great potential. He's lucky he's got you looking out for him." Suki said, feeling guilty for not being completely honest. Everyone would know soon enough.

"He can be difficult sometimes but you can't help but care. I swear he reminds me a bit of Obito and he acts a bit like your…" Kakashi paused, wondering how Suki would react.

"My what?" Suki questioned, "My aunt? He does act like Kushina doesn't he?"

Sighing the two of them became quiet as they gazed up at the stars thinking about those they had both missed over the years. After about five minutes, Suki let out a yawn. Looking up at the moons placement in the sky, she realized it must be midnight by now.

Slowly she stood and stretched. It was time to go home now and get some rest. There was always more time to discuss these topics further with her old friend later. Smiling down at him she offered her hand which he gladly accepted and soon they were both on their feet. "I promise I will tell you more later. It's late now." She commented. Nodding Kakashi gave her a smile but it was lost in the material of his mask. Reaching up she ran her fingers along the fabric. "I always hated that stupid thing." Laughing she turned to leave. As she walked away, he watched her go, noting that the little girl he had once known had grown into quite a beautiful and strong woman.

When she was gone, there was no one but a rather overwhelmed Kakashi left in the field. It was going to take a while to process everything he had learned that night.

**Now you have learned a bit more about Suki. I hope I dropped enough hints in their conversation in order for you to figure out who she is in terms of her family. I had a lot of fun writing this as I've had this scene in my head forever. It was just amusing to me the idea of Kakashi pinning her down only to have her flip it on him and then totally shock him when she gives him his answers. **

**Anyway, please remember to review. Good or bad, I don't care. I just need to know. Oh, I'll give a cookie to anyone who can tell me how long after the mission this chapter takes place or anyone can tell me what last name Suki would have used in Konoha. **


	7. Father and Daughter special side chapter

**AN: **_**(Don't read this unless you really want to know where this whole side story comes from.)**_** I know this deviates from the actual story but I felt the need to post it. I heard the song "Dance with my Father" and felt the need to write a story. Suki was the first person I thought of so this is what was produced. My father's birthday is rapidly approaching and I've been thinking of him a lot. This being my first year away from home at college I've been dealing with a lot of emotions when it comes to my parents and my home. **

**Lord knows I miss being home a lot even though I know being here at college is where I belong and I love being here. My dad has always been a great support in my life and I sometimes feel at a loss without his advice. Thank the lord for telephones and trips home every month or I might just go crazy. Anyway, this is dedicated to my father. I'm thankful for everyday I get to have him in my life to make me smile and help me grow.**

**AN2: As a note on the actually story. Yes, the point of view changes between Suki at the cemetery and flashes back into how Minato felt at the time of the events she's thinking of.**

Suki sighed and held back the wave of emotions that threatened to overcome her. Taking a deep breath she walked forward into the cemetery. Here, some of Konoha's greatest heroes lay. A lump formed in her throat as she walked along the path that lead her past many gravestones. She paused for a moment at the 3rd Hokage's grave and bowed her head in prayer. Again, she paused at Asuma's grave and said a prayer.

Looking up at the star speckled sky she realized just how much she had missed. Time had slipped away while she battled her inner demons. How naïve she had been to believe that running away was the solution. Reaching the graves she had truly come to visit she knelt down on her knees. She would be here a while.

"Can you ever forgive me for leaving him?" she muttered into the silence, examining the gravestones that read "Minato Namikaze" and "Kushina Uzumaki". They were well kept and for this, she was thankful. Chuckling at her aunt's gravestone, she remembered how persistent she was about keeping her last name when they married. The Yondaime never protested; she was safer without carrying his name for the entire world to know.

"You did more for me than anyone could possibly imagine. When I lost everything you took me in and held me close, shared the loss with me." A tear fell from the konochi's lashes and she brushed it away, blinking more back. "I know what it is to lose a parent and yet I couldn't bring myself to hold him close and comfort him like you did for me. I'm so sorry." She whispered.

Suki remembered the day she lost her mother. It hadn't taken long for her Uncle to arrive and upon seeing her he wrapped her in an embrace that comforted her to no end. To the five-year-old girl there were two people she truly found love and comfort in; her mother and her uncle. Suki had never known her father as he had passed away before she was born and 'Uncle Minato' was the closest thing she ever had to a father figure.

* * *

Minato sprinted to the place he knew his sister and niece were staying. He'd been there so many times that he didn't need to think about where he was going. Before he had seen her body, he hadn't quite believed the truth. He had prayed that there was some sort of mistake but his prayers had been in vain. He hadn't been able to look upon his sisters face for more than a few seconds. It just wasn't right, to see the face usually so happy and flushed, emotionless and pale.

One of the AMBU had mentioned something about one of the other visitors from Suna going to inform her daughter. Minato had wanted to smack himself. How could he forget his sister's most precious person? Now he was approaching the house they stayed in when visiting Konoha and stopped. What was he supposed to do?

He walked slowly now but eventually entered the living room. There a sight that nearly brought back the tears he'd been holding in met him. There was his five-year-old niece, crying out of grief, fear, loneliness and lord knows what else. All thoughts of his sadness went when he saw her. He swept her into a hug and held on to all that was left of his sister. Her most precious person would now become his and he would not let her go until she asked him to.

* * *

Together they had grieved for the woman they had lost. For him, it had been difficult to believe the woman he had always looked up to and taken advice from was gone. How could his big sister, the one who always had an answer to everything, be gone? To Suki, it had seemed impossible that her hero, her mother, her everything was gone. At five years old it had been difficult to understand. Minato, for his part, had been a big factor in her being able to move on from the event, although she would never forget.

* * *

Minato woke to the sounds of his niece sobbing. Shaking the sleep from his head he slipped out of bed and quietly made his way out of his room. He tapped lightly on her door before entering Suki's room. The girl looked up at him and a fresh wave of tears began. "I'm sorry for waking you Uncle Minato." She said in a wavering voice.

Minato walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge. He shushed her as he rubbed circles on her arm. "Did you have another nightmare?" he asked, pushing her bangs away from her sweaty face. Suki nodded, averting her eyes in shame. "It's ok, I get them too sometimes." He whispered. This earned him a disbelieving look from the six year old laying in the bed beside him. Minato simply chuckled at her expression. The young girl was quite expressive; it reminded him of her mother.

Minato fixed her tousled bedding and stayed by her side until she was once again immersed in the world of dreams. Judging by the smile on her face, the subject was pleasant.

* * *

The two of them adjusted to living together. At first, it had been difficult for him; he knew nothing of how to deal with a little girl. Of course, his best friend and girlfriend, Kushina, had been a great help. They became a family of sorts. When she had been seven, Minato made it official by proposing to Kushina.

Suki distinctly remembered how he would pick her up and dance with her and Kushina on nights that Suki was particularly restless. In never failed to calm her and often she fell asleep in his arms. In so many ways, Minato had been a father to her.

* * *

"You had better ask her tonight." A seven year old said her hands on her hips. "She loves you but you can't expect her to wait forever."

Laughing at his niece's antics Minato patted the pocket in which the ring was stored. "I promise, tonight. Sometimes I think you are in this more for yourself than me."

"I love Kushina too." The girl responded, rolling her eyes. "She's perfect for you and she's always been there for us. What's not to love?"

This only earned her more laughter from her Uncle. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Minato's face gave away his nervousness. Sighing the girl took his hand and said "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I know she'll say yes."

Letting go of his hand she left for her room to allow the adults to be alone. As she closed her door, he heard her say, "Better not blow it."

* * *

Even before she had lost her mother, he visited the two of them often. He knew how difficult it had been for his sister to deal with her husband's loss and supported her as best he could. In fact, when it came time for his sister to give birth to his niece he had been there by her side in place of her husband. Sometimes he would show up randomly, to Suki's great joy, to join her mother and herself for dinner.

She could no longer fight back the tears. They streamed down her face and fell the ground at her knees. "I've never even been to visit you. How ungrateful am I?" Her blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight as she silently cried for the man and the woman who had become her parents in the years she needed them most. "It's not fair you know. I was just starting to move past all my complexes with my mother when you had to leave me too. I was ten, ten years old and you left me with an infant that I hadn't a clue how to take care of or comfort. What was I supposed to do?"

Laughing through her tears Suki imitated her aunt's voice, "Do your best and ask for help when you need it, silly." Kushina always had a straightforward answer for Suki but it was rarely the one Suki wanted to hear. Sometimes Suki had resented Kushina's presence in her Uncle's life almost as much as she loved it. The two of them often butted heads on the most insignificant things. Suki always ran from her to Minato when she wanted her way. He always made her laugh but then would make her do just what Kushina asked. Suki laughed again at this memory.

"I know how excited you were when you found out you were going to have a child of your own." She continued to speak to the gravestones. "At first I was jealous but you wiped that idea from my mind." Suki remembered how clear they had made it to her that they would always love her and they had plenty of love to share. The night they had told her and she had reacted badly to the news had been one of those nights when they danced her to sleep. At nine years old she was really too old for such things but it had become tradition.

* * *

Minato could not contain his joy as he sat at the dinner table next to his wife. The news he had just received was incredible. He felt Suki's eyes on him for the hundredth time that night. He and Kushina hadn't told her yet but the girl knew something was up. "You two aren't telling me something." The girl stated in a faked disinterested voice as she picked at the vegetables left on her plate.

Looking over to Kushina they both nodded in understanding. "Suki, your Uncle and I found out some very exciting news today." Kushina began.

"You're going to have a cousin soon." Minato finished, a smile filling his features.

Suki's fork clattered onto her plate. She looked up at the two of them, her eyes wide as saucers. Suddenly she was gone from the room, an empty plate and chair left in her wake.

"What was that about?" Minato questioned and received a knowing look from his wife.

"I think I know." Pushing seat away from the table she walked toward her niece's bedroom. "Minato, can you clear the table for me, please?" she asked as she entered the hall leading away from the kitchen.

By the time Minato was finished drying the last plate he heard his giggling wife and niece coming down the hall. He made his way over to them and swept the girl into his arm, swinging her around. "You ok sweetheart?" he asked, using his pet name for her. Nodding the girl snuggled close to him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Uncle." She whispered. After he had danced her to sleep, Minato carried her to her bed. As he turned out the light and closed her door he heard her say, "I love you daddy." It struck him then what had upset her earlier. Returning to his pregnant wife, he realized that this would technically be their second child. How silly his niece was to think she wasn't loved like that.

* * *

He used to tell her that she was beautiful and looked just like her mother at that age. "I'm going to have to chase the boys away from you when you're older, you're going to be as beautiful as her." He would say to her. If only he knew how right he was. She could be her mother's twin at this age, it was difficult to look in the mirror some days. Now she had her disguise and rarely let the jutsu down long enough to see herself in the mirror. That did not stop her from knowing the truth though.

The long strands of blonde hair that fell forward around her face served as a reminder. Suki would never dream of visiting these graves in anything less than her natural state. "You know how many people thought I was your daughter. I don't look a thing like my father, only your side of the family. Then again I guess that means I did look like my father." She smiled at her Uncle's grave. " With the same hair and eyes, it was no wonder. Apparently, our looks are dominant. Naruto looks mostly like you but he acts just like Kushina. How no one has realized that he's your son baffles me."

Laughing to herself Suki remarked, "I will hurt Kakashi later for not recognizing the truth about his student. He of all people should have realized by now."

"You two would have been amazing parents to him. I know you did a remarkable job with me." A resentful look crossed her face, "If that dam fox hadn't come a ruined everything we could still be a family. I really was looking forward to being a big sister. It's not fair that I got to have you as parents, even for a short while, when he never got to have you at all. I feel like I've stolen something that doesn't belong to me." Suki sighed, knowing none of this would change the past.

"I promise I will look after him now. I know it's late and he's suffered a lot without the support when he was younger but I will make sure he has all the support he needs now. To be honest, he already has good friends. Just like his mother, he has a way of making people care."

Suki became quiet as she allowed the silence of the night to swallow her. She was never going to be able to make up for lost time but she would honor them as best she could. Suki owed them that much for all Minato and Kushina had done for her. "He will know of you and he will know of the lessons you taught me. I know you would want Naruto to know of this. He will know the love of his parents. It may take me some time but he will learn of his family and who I am. Tsunade will probably kill me for telling him." Suki was who she was because of their love and care and now she knew it was her duty to pass this along to her cousin.

By now, the tears had stopped and a look of determination had crossed her face. If there was one thing she knew it was that all children need to know the love of their parents, her parents had taught her that. And this is what Suki was thinking as she walked away from the graves she had just visited. The graves of the beloved couple that would always be thought of as her parents by the blonde-haired Jonin.

**So, what did you think? Too sappy? I really wanted to give some more insight into who Suki is while writing this. It's a part of the story but at the same time it's not. This doesn't fit into any particular part of the story and the time frame on it has quite a range. I hope the switching points of views didn't confuse you. I simply wanted to show that the love was mutual. **


	8. Revelations of the sick

**AN: I know, I know you all are probably tired of the weak Suki thing, no? First with the being injured and now, well….you'll have to read to see. This is the last of what I call revelation chapters for a while. I think an awful amount has been revealed about Suki and I don't want to spoil everything just yet.**

Kakashi walked down the familiar path that lead to the memorial stone. To his surprise, he was not the only one to visit this morning. Suki, her hair loose and blowing in the light breeze was standing before the stone. Although she had changed her image back to that which everyone was familiar with, Kakashi couldn't help but see the real woman standing there, as though a ghost within the image she was projecting. After he had thought about everything he had learned a few weeks before, he decided to not to reveal her but, at some point, she needed to face up. He'd talk to her about that later.

Would the village be surprised at the revelation that was coming their way? One woman could not change things that much and yet this was Suki. He wondered what her motivations were these days.

Kakashi was fascinated at how they had seemed to slip back into the old friendship they had had. It wasn't that they talked a lot or did many things together, there was just this comfortable feeling between them, like old friends have.

The two of them stood in front of the stone in silence for a long while, both content to be lost in their own thoughts. It was a beautiful, if not brisk, morning. The sky was just beginning to lose its pink shades from its earlier rising. A few high clouds hung overhead but, for the most, part the lovely cobalt sky was clear.

Suki was relieved to have one person know her secret. Although she wasn't sure where things were going with Kakashi, he seemed to be comfortable with what she had told him and was not pushing her for more information.

After some time Suki decided to speak. "I guess I understand why you're always late." She whispered, not desiring to disturb the peace in the clearing.

He turned his head to look at her, a smile on his lips. "Not you too. What is so wrong with running a little late?"

Suki giggled, "Nothing is wrong with being a little late but you run perpetually more than a little late."

Her eyes rested on a particular name engraved into polished stone. "Picked that up from him, huh?"

Sadness clouded her face as she thought of the young man whose eye now lay below the headband of the silver-haired man standing next to her. She had not been around when that tragedy had struck but she knew the tale and missed the young man too.

Reaching over Suki wrapped her fingers around Kakashi's wrist, startling the Jonin with the contact. "I know why you come but it's unhealthy to stay so long all the time." Her eyes met his and she gave him a sad smile. "Come on, let's go. Sakura, Naruto and Sai will be wondering where we are." Kakashi allowed himself to be pulled from the clearing, smirking under his mask. This was classic Suki.

When they arrived at the training grounds, they found the three younger Ninja waiting impatiently for them. When Sakura and Naruto complained, Suki could not help but laugh. As she walked up to Naruto she ruffled his hair, saying "What did I tell you before? Do you simply refuse to learn or is your skull so thick that even lessons that have been pounded in repeatedly just can't get through?" This earned her laughs from everyone.

Later, as they trained, Kakashi watched Suki working with Naruto. The boy had been glad to see her back at the training grounds. She seemed to work seamlessly with him, as though she knew just what he needed in order to master a concept or strengthen a skill. She was also wind natured, which only added to her ability to help him. The way she looked at him, it was with care and not a bit of resentment. For a girl who had lost the last of her family to defeating the nine-tailed fox, she seemed to place little blame on the fox's jailer.

Today, it appeared they were working on his focus. She stood in front of him with her fist raised, pushing one forward on occasion. Naruto, for his part, was blocking the blows with an open palm. The idea was to stay focused on her movement and to be able to respond swiftly and accordingly. This was an exercise often used with younger students but it never hurt someone like Naruto to revisit the basics. Suki was not exactly going easy on him anyway.

Suki had a serious look in her eyes but a smile on her face. He must be doing well. Naruto's face held an unusual amount of concentration. It looked so odd on the boy. Kakashi almost felt like telling Naruto he'd better not push it or he'd fry his brain with all that concentration.

Her training with Naruto had not really changed much about the boy but there were subtle changes, mainly in the way he controlled his chakra. Something she had said to him seemed to have clicked and he was slowly learning to channel the chakra more efficiently. He may have a lot of chakra but this would only add to his ability to endure longer than his opponents. Naruto was also less likely to run right into a fight without giving it at least some thought as well.

After a good morning of training, the group sat in the shade while enjoying their lunch. This was one of the nicer training grounds as it had a good amount of soft grass laying around it. While it was practical for use as a cushion when sparing, it also happened to make a comfortable place to sit. From the grass, one could see the Hokage Mountain and if one listened, they could hear the river passing just a little further to the east. It may be a place designed with fighting in mind but it sure could be relaxing.

Kakashi noticed that Suki was more quite that usual. If it were not for Naruto being his usual self, the others might have noticed too. As they were about to go back to back to training she placed her hands to her temple and rubbed them. "Ugh, I think I'm getting a migraine." She remarked as she stood.

Sakura gave her a concerned look and brought her hand to the older woman's forehead. "You don't have a temperature but you ought to go home if you are getting a migraine." She advised. Nodding, Suki began to gather her stuff.

Naruto seemed disappointed, earning him a smile from Suki. "Don't worry Naruto. I'll be back tomorrow if you want me to." After receiving the blondes enthusiastic approval the older nin left the training grounds for her home.

After putting her things away in their proper place, Suki made her way into the kitchen. She opened the freezer, placed some ice cubes in a bowl, and filled it with water. She knew from experience that a cool cloth on her head when she had a migraine felt dam good. Plopping herself down on her bed Suki closed her eyes and let sleep take her. Lord knows she needed it.

* * *

A few hours later Suki blinked her eyes open a groaned. She hadn't felt this bad since…well, since she couldn't remember. Sitting up, black spots exploded into her vision. That didn't mean anything good. She waited for the spots to clear before standing. "Dam it." She muttered as she walked over to her mirror, her hands rubbing her temples. She slid her shirt down over her shoulder, revealing a mark on her collarbone. Rubbing it as though it was tender, she examined it. Stupid thing was always a little sore but when she got sick, it seemed worse.

"What's that?" she heard a voice ask from behind. Looking into the mirror, she saw Kakashi sitting in her window, a placid look upon his face. Covering her shoulder quickly Suki blushed. "Nothing." She said quietly going back over to her bed and letting herself fall into it face first. She simply did not feel well.

Kakashi wasn't sure exactly why he was here but something told him to visit Suki. When he arrived at her apartment the door was locked but the window was open. Suki was clearly asleep, but it wasn't peaceful. Her face showed her discomfort, scrunched up in an odd contortion. She must not be feeling well.

Her bedroom wasn't large but big enough to hold everything required of it. There was an oak theme with the furniture. Across from the window was an elegant dresser with a mirror hung just above it. His reflection stared back at him as he squatted in the window. It was a simple dresser, two drawers wide and three drawers tall. On the wall to the right of the dresser was a full-length mirror. As his eyes continued down the wall, he saw her bed, a simple four post, with a nightstand next to it. In the bed was Suki, covered by her light blue comforter. On the wall in which the window was set there was a bookshelf, which Kakashi noted was full. The wall to his left had, what he assumed, were closet doors and the door that lead to the rest of the apartment. The walls of the room were a plain white, probably only remaining that way because she was not the owner.

Now she was awake but not exactly responding to him. Poor girl must be feeling really poorly. He hopped down from his perch and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her. "Sorry for intruding." He said, "I just wanted to check on you. You didn't look so hot when you left the training area earlier." His response was a muffled groan from the figure lying in the bed. Chuckling he rubbed her shoulder gently, prompting the girl to look over at him. Immediately she cringed and buried her head back into the comforter.

Realizing how bright the room was with the window open, the silver haired jonin stood and closed the window, blinds and curtains. Now the room was quite dark, he had just enough light to get back to the bed. Sitting down once again, he ran his fingers gently through her hair. "That better?" He asked. Her only answer was a contented sigh. The strong woman he was used to seemed so pitiful right now. His fingers brushed over her skin as he continued to play with her hair and the tips felt the scorching heat beneath. "You're warm Suki, I think we need to cool you down."

Her hand gestured to a bowl full of ice water and a washcloth that lay beside her bed. Kakashi wondered how often she fell ill like this if she had known to prepare that before falling into bed the first time. The jonin reached over and dipped the cloth into the cool water. As he wrung it out, he pondered how he had ended up caring for her when he had originally meant only to check up on her. He lifted her hair and ran the cloth over the back of her neck and onto her shoulders. He noticed a slight tensing as he passed over the right.

Suki relished the coolness of the cloth that Kakashi was currently running over her neck. It felt so good on her burning skin. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she should feel slightly uncomfortable about this but the illness pushed those thoughts aside. A little care never hurt anyone, especially when they were sick. He couldn't know how much closing the blinds had helped. The light had been extremely irritating, as though it were creating needles, which were stabbing themselves into her head. She got migraines occasionally, but rarely felt this ill. It was as if the migraine had taken on a life of its own and extended its self far beyond its usual realm. This made her want to snicker. What, had the migraine hired an army and decided to conquer previously unknown territory?

Kakashi leaned over to rewet the cloth, leaving her long hair brushed aside. His eyes never left her right shoulder though. Just below her collarbone was what looked like a black butterfly tattoo. If he hadn't known better he would have believed it. However, this covering did not fool the copy ninja. Underneath the meticulous covering she had created, he was sure there was some sort of curse mark. It did not have the same feeling that other marks he had encountered had though. If he had to make a comparison, he would say it felt more innocent.

"This isn't going to do a lot of good on the back of your head." Whispered Kakashi, careful of her headache. She slowly turned herself over, resting on her back. Blue eyes blinked up at him as he ran the cloth over her forehead. When had she changed them back to their natural color? They had been brown when he arrived, hadn't they?

Suki gave her friend a weak smile as the cool cloth made contact with her skin. "Thank you, Kakashi." She said quietly. He smiled back but the darkness and his mask prevented the woman from knowing. Dipping the cloth again, he wrung it and folded it. After brushing her bangs out of the way, Kakashi placed the cloth over her eyes and forehead.

The silence in the room began to close in on him as he sat beside her on the bed. Suki had not yet returned to slumber and there was nothing more for him to do. "Nice tattoo." He commented into the quietness, not sure, he would get a response.

"Not a tattoo." The woman beside him muttered.

"Oh, I see." The silver-haired man replied, not sure how to react. Was this considered taking advantage?

"Curse mark, very annoying." Suki continued to talk.

"Who gave it to you?" Kakashi dared to ask.

"My fiancé." was the quiet response.

"Fiancé?" Kakashi inquired with surprise.

"Jerk wanted me to remember whom I belong to." Suki whispered.

"Oh, I take it you two don't exactly get along any more then?" Kakashi asked. Part of him could not resist. After all, this was the most open she had been since she had shared her secret with him.

"Ha, I hate Itachi Uchiha." Was the last reply he received before she fell asleep.

**Dun, Dun, Dun. Bet you didn't see that one coming. Sorry again about the weak Suki thing. I needed her to be a little more open so it was either being sick or getting drunk. She really is a strong woman and all but, like most of us, doesn't handle illness well. **

**Please let me know what you think so far. I'm trying to take the advice given to me. Good or Bad please press the pretty button and leave a review.**


	9. Places your feet will go and facing up

**AN: Here's a treat to thank those who have been so kind as to read this story. A new chapter early. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! **

**Wow, my muse must have been in a wacky mood. I'm not sure where the whole Shikamaru thing came from but hey, I decided to keep it anyway. This chapter is so full of angst it's not even funny(god, that is a really bad pun if you think about it). Oh, and yes I know in Naruto that Itachi was actually 13 when he killed his family but I found that out after I began this story so I'm ignoring it and say he is only a year younger than Suki. Ha, see if you can guess how old she is. I've given enough information :) ****.**

What am I supposed to say Suki wondered as she wandered the streets of Konoha. The konochi bit her lip as she continued on her unplanned path though the village. She looked up at the blue sky, as though some heavenly influence could possibly get her out of the mess she had created for herself.

When she woke in the morning, a dry cloth on the pillow beside her and a couple of pain killers accompanied by a note on her bedside table, she knew she had messed up. Memories of the day before and the conversation she'd had with Kakashi before falling asleep caught up to her quickly. How could she have let that slip, even if she had been sick? What must he think of her? Of course, the whole story hadn't been told. Perhaps, if she could explain it correctly, it would be understandable.

She let out a sigh. Great, now she only had to figure out the correct way to clarify the events that had lead to her engagement. Her eyes went to her left ring finger, where there had once been a beautiful ring that made her heart flutter every time she glanced at it. Now, there was nothing but bare skin and many memories that filled her mind with might have beens.

Suki wanted to laugh at the irony of it all. It did not matter how far or for how long she ran, the cold hard truth always caught up to her. Destiny just did not seem to have a family planned out for her. She knew the love of a family, yes, but she was never allowed to keep it.

Suki turned down a busy street, full of vender carts. She was in the heart of the market district and the street was full of hustling people. Perfect, this was an easy place to lose one's self. As she expertly weaved between the populace she became alert, taking in all the action around her. Something caught her attention.

A young man, a ninja if she wasn't mistaken, was leaning against the side wall of one of the many shops along the street. In his hand was a cigarette and out of his mouth came a puff of smoke. What was a young ninja like him doing smoking? Didn't he know how bad it was for him?

She brought her focus back, taking in more of the boy. His hair was in a high, spiky, pony tail, and he had brown eyes that spoke of intelligence. If she wasn't mistaken, he was a Nara. She remembered that there had indeed been a new addition to the Nara family the same year Naruto had been born. Seeing him bring the cigarette to his mouth once again, she rolled her eyes. And Nara's were supposed to be a smart bunch.

Something told her to walk over to the young man; something about him beckoned her forward. The only acknowledgment she received was a slight rising of his eyebrows. "That's a bad habit for a shinobi to pick up." She commented casually, as though speaking about the weather.

"That may be so, but what business is it of yours?" The boy asked, taking another puff of smoke into his mouth. Suki desperately dug into her memory, searching for the boy's name. She knew she had heard Naruto and Sakura speak of him. Nara…Nara…Shikamaru? Yes, that was it, Shikamaru!

Now, if only she could remember what team he belonged to. That's right, he was on the same team as that girl Sakura liked to complain about, yet called a friend…Ino. Wow, this was a great day for her memory. Ah, now she could recall, they were part of a team when they were genin under the sensei…Asuma Sarutobi. Now she understood.

"I guess its not, Shikamaru. Still, I'm not sure your sensei would approve." Suki replied.

Shikamaru's head turned toward her with a look of surprise and perhaps some anger. "Who are you to tell me what he would or would not approve?"

Suki laughed, "Can't say we were best friends but I knew him well enough." She reached over and pulled what was left of the cigarette from his fingers. It fell to the ground, ash spreading around it. Suki took her heal and stamped it out, sliding her heal forward after as one might after squashing a bug to be sure it was dead.

"I wasn't done with that." The young man commented.

"Look, I'm not here to tell you what you should or shouldn't do. I'm probably not going to give this much more thought after this. But, I figure I owe it to my old friend to at least talk to you." Suki said.

Lord knows she had enough to deal with right now. Still, owning up to her past was a promise she had made to herself. If this was a way to start then she had to take it. Maybe this would be good practice for later when she would have to speak about much more difficult things.

Shikamaru couldn't figure this woman out. He had seen her around but had never come in close contact with her. She spent most of her time with team Kakashi. Now she was standing there, apparently trying to lecture him on his smoking habit. She couldn't have known his sensei, at least not the Asuma he had known because she had been away from the village for a long time. At least that was his understanding. How troublesome.

"There are a lot of people who have said the same things to me that knew him better than yourself. What makes you think what you have to say will matter?" Shikamaru asked.

"Something he would have said at your age I'm sure." Suki said "I don't know much about who he became. I heard he left the village for a while and was a part of the twelve ninja guardians. I also heard he became quite the chain smoker. What I do know is who he was back then, before all of that."

This seemed to peak the kids interest at bit but he was careful to control his expression. "That gives you even less say on what he would have to say on the topic of my smoking."

"Smart kid, bet he saw that in you. You are wrong though. Asuma would not have wanted you to do something that is so self-destructive. One thing I remember very clearly was his passion for protecting the people he cared for and what he thought was right. I think you carry a bit of that legacy in you. How do you plan on continuing it if you are doing such obvious harm to yourself?" Suki replied. A memory from when she was younger came to mind.

Asuma had been a good bit older than she, but they had developed a friendship based on what they had in common. It was funny that they did find common ground because each viewed having a parent as Hokage differently. They used to talk about the extra attention and pressure placed on them. While Suki felt that it only made her that much stronger, Asuma always felt he was not good enough for his father. Suki could never understand this. From her perspective, Asuma's father, while still trying to help his son understand the things he had yet to learn, loved Asuma very much and was proud.

Shikamaru paused; no one had ever put it that way. Perhaps this woman did know something. "He also believed in honoring those we care for who have passed on." He threw out as a challenge, knowing it was a weak one.

"You're not even trying. Guess you must be listening then. If you want to honor your sensei don't do it in a way that dishonors what he would have wanted for you." With that, Suki walked away from the boy. She was out of words of wisdom and he at the end of his pack.

* * *

Somehow, Suki found herself walking through the Uchiha compound. What an odd path her feet had been taking her today. As she took in the streets, she felt overwhelmed. She hadn't been here since that day.

The once busy and happy streets were empty; the homes and shops in disrepair. It was eerie; this place was never meant to be this way. This was the home, the essence of all that the clan had been, was and would be. Now, the Uchiha compound was nothing but a home to ghost of the past.

Closing her eyes, she could almost hear the noise that once filled this place. Children laughing, adults chatting, woman sweeping and cooking and the men going about their own work. She remembered how she would let Itachi sneak up behind her and cover her eyes, as though she couldn't sense him coming.

Everyone was so used to thinking of him as the monster who killed his entire clan but Suki could remember a different Itachi. Sure, he was like most people would have thought a Uchiha was. Not one to show his emotions; it had been difficult for her to get him to open up at first. The thing that everyone forgot is that Itachi is human. He was a brother, son, cousin, friend and teammate.

Suki had never been able to understand why he did what he did. The Itachi she had known may not have admitted it, but he loved his family; loved her. Something changed, in the months leading up to that horrible day. Looking back, she should have known there was something wrong. She had tried to pretend it was just nerves, over their upcoming wedding. He kept pushing it out and she could not understand.

"Why did you do it?" she whispered "How could you do that?"

* * *

She walked onto the Uchiha compound, a smile gracing her lips. It always felt good to come home after a long day at work. Being AMBU wasn't exactly easy. Her smile turned into a frown as she found the streets dark. Something wasn't right. Had something happened? Where was Itachi? Was he ok?

Immediately, she went on alert. She reached into the weapon's pouch she kept on her hip and pulled out a kunai. It was odd that she could not sense much in the way of chakra in the area. Where was everyone? Feeling that there was danger she cloaked her chakra and made her way further into the compound.

Turning down the next street, she almost cried out in shock. There so many of them; all dead. How could this happen? Itachi, where was he? And Sauske, little Sauske, was he ok? Surely, Itachi would have protected him.

Soon, both of her questions were answered. Sauske, a fearful and upset look upon his face came running down the street in her direction. Suki's protective side kicked in, the boy was like a little brother to her even if it wasn't official yet. Before she could move to run to him, Itachi appeared in between Sauske and herself. If he knew she was there, he did not let on.

She expected Itachi to tell Sauske to get out of here, that he would take care of things. The look on Sauske's face though, made her wonder what had really happened. "Don't kill me." He said, to her surprise. Why would he say that to…no….Itachi couldn't have done this.

"You are not even worth killing." She heard a voice she recognized as her love say. But it was so cold, so far removed from her Itachi's, that she didn't believe it was him saying it at first. "If you want to kill me, begrudge me! Hate me! And keep on living in that unsightly manner. Just continue fleeing and fleeing and hang onto your life." Then he was gone.

She numbly walked forward, toward Sauske, who had passed out. Falling to her knees beside the boy, she pulled his head into her lap. Her eyes took in the horror that had once been the happy home of a prosperous family. Bodies lay haphazardly, signs slashed, lanterns broken, ninja weapons thrown into every wall and the darkness, the darkness of this night seemed to close in. At first, she hadn't realized she had started to cry, until the first tear fell onto her hand. She began to stroke her fingers though the hair of the boy below her. What must he have just been though? She picked him up and stood. This was not the place he would wake up to see.

After bringing the boy to a safe place, she knew she needed to check the rest of the compound. She went down every street and looked in every shop but there was no one left alive. Every one she had known to live there was accounted for. This was terrible, how could Itachi have done such a thing. Then she heard voices.

Quietly she made her way toward them, her chakra still cloaked. She recognized them as belonging to fellow AMBU. Someone must have managed to send for help, too bad it came too late. Now she needed to decide what to do. Put on her mask and present herself to them that way or be herself.

"The note said it was Itachi. I just don't understand why he would do such a horrible thing." She heard one say. "We found his kid brother alive near the gates but everyone else is dead."

"I see. The Hokage will want a report on this." She heard the other respond.

"One last thing, his fiancé isn't amongst the dead and hasn't been found in the other parts of the village. We think she may be with him." With that, the other ran off to report to the Hokage.

She felt herself go numb again. She, with him? No, never, she would never follow him after what he had done. But they thought she was; that she had helped him. The ring on her left hand shined in the little light that came from above. Disgusted, she pulled it viciously from her finger and threw it to the ground at her feet. Then she was gone too, into the darkness of the night.

* * *

Suki forced herself to walk though the compound; no matter how badly she wanted to just walk away. She had to face up to her past if she ever wanted a chance at a future. Funny, it looked like someone had tried to begin picking the pieces of this broken place up.

Some of the lamps that she had remembered being broken had been rehung and several windows she had last seen shattered had been replaced. The signs of disuse couldn't be hidden though.

Her breath hitched when she reached their home. The home where she and Itachi were to begin their married lives. When they had become engaged, Suki had been invited to move in with Itachi and his family. Because they were so young it had been decide that they would live there for at least the first year.

She rubbed her shoulder absentmindedly. There may not be official documents but she was as much an Uchiha as anyone else who had once lived here. Part of her wondered why she wasn't dead.

With no great haste, she made her way out of the compound and back toward her apartment. There were so many things for her to process right now. Perhaps sleeping on it would help her.

Suki collapsed onto the rather plain but comfortable beige couch in her living room, a glass of wine in her hand. This was going to take a while to sort out and she knew it. The mistakes she had made would not magically go away. It was going to take time and patience on her part to make things right.

There was a knock on her door. Suki stood and walked over to answer it. Standing on the other side of the door was a silver-haired jonin who was becoming much too familiar. Before he could say a word she had shut the door in his face. She'd faced up enough for one day, hadn't she?

**Well, what did you think? I know there was little imagery in this but it was meant to be that way. Suki is to focus in her own mind that she's not really noticing all that much. Please leave a review, good or bad.**


	10. More old friends

**AN: Wow, I feel like I've been working on this chapter forever. I've kind of noticed that my authors notes are a bit like a journal about my writing this story. Hope you all do not mind my sharing. I also noticed that I enjoy writing Suki and Kakashi pieces too much. I think it has to do with the fact that he is currently the only one who knows about who she really is. I'm watching myself on that one because I feel like that it might take away from the point of my story. It's about Suki but also Naruto and Sauske and how they are all tied together, all drifting leaves (cheesy, I know.) On with the story now:**

Suki tossed and turned in her sleep, a nightmare ruining her previously peaceful slumber. "No…don't…." she cried out. Her face showed a great sorrow as the nightmare continued. Suddenly she shot straight up in bed, a look of confusion, pain and shock on her face.

Slowly her ragged breathing slowed and she ran her fingers though her hair. The pretty jonin sighed and reached for a glass of water that sat on her bedside table. As she sipped at the water, she glanced around her room. It was dark in her room tonight, it was a new moon so there was little brightness in the night sky. It amazed her how different her room could be without light. Light was amazing, it gave everything color. Now, her room was reduced to blacks and grays.

A small shaft of light came though her curtains, creating a little line of light that stretched across her room. Wait, hadn't she closed her curtains completely when she went to bed. There hadn't been any light when she fell asleep had there? Now her eyes searched the shadows of her room for anything else that might be out of place. "You're observant, yet unobservant when you're half asleep." She heard a voice say from beside her.

Turning her head toward the source of the noise her eyes met Kakashi's grey one. "What are you doing here Kakashi?" Suki inquired, irritated.

"You only seem to have serious conversations with me when I force you or you are half asleep so to be sure you'd talk to me I'm creating both situations." Kakashi replied with a hint of humor.

Suki let herself fall back into the bed and pulled the covers over her face. "Yeah Kashi, this isn't creepy at all." was her muffled comment.

"The fact that you're using a nickname you used for me seventeen years ago tells me that we are friends and therefore it's my prerogative to bother you at all hours." Kakashi said with a chuckle.

The sheets were slowly pulled down to reveal a glaring Suki. She pushed her pillows against the headboard and propped herself up. "No wonder you don't have many who would define you as friend." She muttered. "Must we really do this now? It's…" she paused to look at her clock. "2:23 in the morning."

"You're the one who chose not to talk earlier." Kakashi commented. Her response was to roll her eyes and reach over to turn on the lamp sitting by her bed. She huffed as she pushed her hair back out of her face then crossed her arms. The look she gave him said 'well, I'm listening.'

"You're stubbornness has only gotten worse with age." The older Jonin commented as he ran his fingers though his hair. "I'm sorry if I upset you yesterday. It wasn't my intention, you just looked like you could use some help. Don't blame me for your loose lips."

Suki gave a snort. "Well, I can see you're no better at apologizing than before. It's a good thing there's nothing for you to apologize for. I'm the one who started all this and made the choices I made. You're just the unlucky one who's gotten tangled up in this."

"I wouldn't be tangled if I didn't want to be." Kakashi replied. "You meant a lot to Minato and that rubbed off on all of us on his team. Things aren't ideal now but you're working on it. That's good enough for me."

Suki undid her crossed arms and punched Kakashi lightly on the shoulder. "Ha, don't get all sentimental on me. You've done enough of that already. Thank you, by the way, for yesterday." Kakashi rubbed his shoulder gently, her punches were a bit stronger than he would like. He thought about her words. It was true, he was acting differently that he usually would have.

He reached up and rubbed the back of his head as was his habit. "I'm just glad you're feeling better. There are a few people, one who lives just down the hall, who would have been upset if you weren't."

A silence filled the room for a minute or two. Suki waited for Kakashi to say something more, to get the conversation onto what he wanted to discuss but he said nothing.

"What is it that you wanted to discuss? I'm sure I left you with some questions." Suki asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You wouldn't happen to have been delirious last night when you told me you were once engaged to Itachi Uchiha were you?" Kakashi asked.

Suki chuckled and began playing absentmindedly with the hair lying around her. "Nope, I wasn't so far gone that I would have said anything that wasn't true." She looked up to meet Kakashi's eye and tried to read his expression. If it were not for that stupid mask, she might have been able to.

Kakashi didn't say anything for several breathless moments. 'Dam it, what are you thinking behind that mask of yours.' Suki thought, desperate to know his reaction.

"Well, I'm sure I agree with your taste but at least you knew when to walk away." Kakashi remarked.

Suki punched him again. "You don't give a dam do you? You just wanted to hear me admit it didn't you?" Kakashi chucked behind his mask.

Suki suddenly launched herself forward and yanked at his mask down. Her other hand reached up and pushed the headband off his Sharingan eye. "God, how does anyone put up with you when you keep everything so hidden." She whispered, taking in his features, which had changed since the last time she had seen him with his mask off.

Kakashi was taken aback by Suki's actions and did not move for a good minute. "You can't be angry with me Kakashi. You know all my secrets."

"Ha, but you'll still surprise me with something else before too long." Kakashi remarked. He backed away toward her window, pulling his mask and forehead protector back into place. "I believe I left something in the oven at home. I'd better get going." He said just before disappearing.

Suki giggled to herself. You never could quite tell when Kakashi was being serious or messing with your head. Part of her was happy he hadn't asked any questions to probe for details. Must she always pick the mysterious ones to be her friends? It felt good to have someone to trust and someone who trusted her. He never asked her for more information than he needed.

* * *

The next morning Suki made her way to the ramen shop. It was a beautiful day. The sun shown down upon the village, warming her skin. It was one of those days that despite her problems Suki could close her eyes and imagine that everything would be fine.

When she reached the ramen shop Suki was surprised to find Naruto eating and chatting with a white haired someone. Suki was debating whether or not to bother her younger blonde friend when he spotted her. Naruto gave her a noodle filled smile and waved her over.

Suki approached the two of them and took a seat on the stools. It always surprised her how comfortable the stools at this shop were. One would never expect stools like that to be comfortable. When Naruto finally swallowed the shovel sized bite, he had placed in his mouth he turned to her. "Morning Suki-san. How are you?" He asked, concerned because she had been ill the other day.

Suki ruffled Naruto's hair and laughed. "Good morning to you Naruto. I'm doing just marvelous. Isn't the weather just glorious?" Just then Ayame arrived at the bar, interrupting their conversation. Suki ordered a miso ramen before turning back to Naruto.

"Pretty friend you've got there Naruto. You going to introduce us?" she heard Naruto's white-haired companion inquire. Her eyes nearly popped out their sockets when she got her first look at him. Jiraiya? These two knew each other? Tsunade allowed Jiraiya near Naruto? This would be nothing but trouble.

Suki quickly fixed her expression; she wasn't supposed to know Jiraiya. Unfortunately for her, the man had noticed her reaction. He gave her a smirk and a wink. Suki was suddenly struck with the urge to punch the perverted idiot.

Naruto missed this exchange as he finished his current bowl and called for a new one. "Sorry Purvey-sage. This is Suki, she recently returned to Konoha. She does work at the academy and works with Sakura and me at the training grounds." Suki tried to control her urge to giggle at Naruto's nickname.

His head turned toward Suki, "Suki this is Jiraiya, he was the one who brought be on the training trip I told you about."

"Ah, Jiraiya the toad sage, sanin? Naruto, you've got some rather interesting friends." Suki said, smiling at the older man sitting on the other side of Naruto. She respected Jiraiya despite finding his perverted ways disgusting.

The two of them reached behind Naruto and shook hands. Jiraiya kept his hand in hers a little too long, causing her to squeeze his hand as tightly as she could, which, with the help of chakra, was pretty tightly. He had no clue who he was flirting with. It made her want to laugh; he'd never even try if he knew she was. The older ninja cringed as he pulled his hand away from hers. Suki just gave him a pleasant smile and turned back to the counter in front of her where a steaming bowl of ramen had been placed.

Jiraiya was quite for a few minutes, his throbbing hand reminding him that the woman sitting on the other side of Naruto wasn't one to mess with. She reminded him a bit of Tsunade in the way she had tried to nip this in the bud by demonstrating her strength to him. Her use of chakra had been reminiscent of Tsunade as well. This only peaked his interest in the pretty woman.

"So, Naruto said you had just returned to the village. Where was it you were traveling?" the older man asked.

Suki finished slurping a bit of noodles into her mouth and swallowed before she answered. "Oh, well I lived in Suna for a good while but I traveled from there to many places. I have visited many of the nations. I'm interested in the histories and cultures of the lands."

"Ah, a worldly woman then, that's very impressive." Jiraiya remarked. He'd noticed that her eyes seemed to hold knowledge beyond her years, not uncommon for shinobi, but now he could understand its source.

"Suki-san has told us a lot about the other peoples of the world. It sounds so cool, I want to visit some of those places someday." Naruto commented.

Both adults laughed knowing the boy would probably see more in the world that either of them ever would. "I'm sure you will Naruto. As a ninja you've already traveled to many places." Suki said.

"Yeah but not like you. You weren't on missions so you got to experience the places more than I did." Naruto replied. Suki was taken aback at this insight of Naruto's. He was right, she'd been able to learn so much more about the places she had traveled.

Naruto continued saying "I know the land of fire is an amazing place but the other nations seem so incredible too. If I want to be Hokage, I've got be able to understand them. Tsunade-sama has been telling me about the parts of her job not everyone knows about and she say's creating relations with other nations and ninja villages is one of the most important jobs she has." Both Suki and Jiraiya looked at the boy, who had returned to his ramen, with shocked faces. Had he really just said that? 'He does listen and is growing so quickly.' Suki thought to herself.

Later Naruto had to leave for practice leaving Suki and Jiraiya alone. "He never ceases to amaze." Suki commented as she paid for her meal. Jiraiya laughed at this and nodded.

"He seems pretty close to you for the short time you've known each other." The white-haired man remarked.

"Yeah, Naruto and I just clicked. Of course, it's not difficult to be drawn in by that bouncing blonde ball of sunshine." Suki said with a smile.

"Look, I have a meeting with Tsunade tonight. I think you might be interested in what I have to say. Why don't you join us? Kakashi's already agreed to be there."Jiraiya said.

Suki gave Jiraiya a confused look but nodded. "Sure, I'll be there. If you say it's important I believe you." Was this about Naruto? There wouldn't be any other reason to invite her would there? Looking at the time she jumped from her seat. "I'm sorry but I've got to run. I'm assisting at the academy today."

With that, Suki was gone, jumping along the rooftops to make it on time.

Jiraiya watched the kunoichi as she ran off and sighed. When it came to woman, she was the best kind; Strong, independent but also loving and loyal to those close to her. He could tell by the way she looked at and spoke to Naruto that she took him seriously and cared for the boy as much as he. Something about her was familiar too. Who did she remind him of? A little of Tsunade, Naruto when she was messing around and Kushina too. The older man let that thought leave his mind and moved on to more concerning things…like the Akatsuki's latest movements.

**I have a question for those reading. I mentioned Suki's job at the academy but have not done any chapters with her there. I'm not quite done with the next chapter but it seems like it might come out a bit short. Would you all like a little piece on Suki's adventures with the young ninja in training?**

**Let me know and as always please drop a review if you have something to say; good or bad.**


	11. Out in the Open

**AN: Sorry for the amount of time since my last post. I just couldn't focus over the holiday break and had trouble getting this chapter out. If it's a bit stiff, that's why. The Academy part didn't go the direction I thought it would but I thought it was slightly amusing. As always, let me know what you think.**

"Why do you like working with the little brats?" Suki asked, rubbing her temples as she glared at Iruka. It wasn't the poor man's fault that today had been particularly bad but she had to take it out on someone.

Sighing she allowed herself to calm down when Iruka gave her a knowing look. "It helps sometimes to think back on the day and figure out what when wrong. Perhaps there's something we could do differently next time."

"Spoken like a true teacher." Suki responded, rolling her eyes. Biting her lip she did begin to think back, doing as he said.

The class began in its normal fashion, Iruka giving instruction, then sending the students off in groups for practice. That's where Suki came in. While it was easy for Iruka to do the large group, things became more complex with the smaller groups.

Suki would walk amongst the groups, offering advice and giving instruction as needed. With the two of them, she and Iruka could keep things relatively calm, even with some impatient groups nagging them for attention.

Today's practice should have been easy but right away Suki hit trouble in the form of a young man named Renzo. He was one of the bigger boys in the class and outclassed many of his classmates when it came to physical training. Too bad his brains were not nearly as developed as his brawn.

It was a simple throwing practice where all different types of throwing weapons were to be practiced. Each group had a basket of said weapons, dull of course. Renzo had decided that the other students made better targets than the logs that had been place around the practice area.

Suki came up behind him and pulled the throwing star he was aiming at one of the shyer girls in the class. The sweet and quite intelligent girl reminded her of one of Naruto's friends she had met briefly. That's right, her name had been Hinata, if Suki's memory served her.

"That kind of practice is not allowed here and you know it." She said, "I think you ought to sit this one out if you find the logs too easy to hit."

The boy sulked off and Suki had begun working with the others. As she was helping one of the others throw with a steadier arm she sensed something flying toward her. She noted that several students had shocked looks on their faces but was to intent on turning herself quickly to distinguish who. Her hand caught the kunai just before it made contact with her shoulder.

Standing there smirking was Renzo. "What did I say before?" she asked being as patient as possible with this overly cocky boy.

"You said that practicing by throwing at the other students wasn't allowed and I should sit out if I felt the logs were too easy." The boy replied almost mockingly.

"So naturally, throwing weapons at your sensei is the correct action to take?" Suki inquired. This kid might have some skill at messing with the enemies head when he was older, if he let go of his superiority complex.

"It's not as though I would have actually hurt you." The little snot responded, "Blunt kunai and an experienced ninja don't equal injury."

"I asked you to sit out, not continue practicing at the level you seem to think you're at." Suki said an angry undertone to her calm voice.

"How am I to learn if I don't challenge myself?" The boy asked

Suddenly the kunai he had originally thrown was embedded in the wall above the boys shoulder. There was a tear in the cloth of his shirt but his skin was unblemished. "That is how you throw a kunai." She said

Her eyes roamed the students watching this exchange and remarked, "Lesson number one for those of you who find yourselves feeling like you're better than others. Know when to take a challenge and know when there is not challenge…just stupidity that can get you killed on a real mission." her frustration was coming out.

Another kunai came flying at her, this time from the opposite direction of the first. There stood one of Renzo's friends, his hands holding another weapon. "I don't think you're allowed to do that." He said, pointing to the kunai she had thrown.

"I'm you're sensei, I'm allowed to demonstrate my points." Suki said with calm smile. Inside she was feeling the frustration but it was not anything she couldn't control. These kids were certainly questioning her authority today. This was where her lack of experience with kids left her clueless as to what to do.

Sighing she looked over the students. "Tell you what, since throwing things at me is so popular today I'll allow it." Several students eye's went wide. "I promise a special, challenge training session to any of you who manage to hit me."

Suddenly there were weapons flying at her and she was dodging. She hadn't thought of this as training for herself but it proved a good workout of her basic dodging skills. The students tired of this after a while and the movement both of the students and their sensei had slowed down.

Though she was not fully relaxed Suki began to calm her senses. Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone running toward her. Before she knew what was happening she was on the ground and several weapons touched her skin.

Suki quickly took back the upper hand before more could take advantage but it was too late, Renzo and several of his friends had indeed made contact with their weapons. It both amazed and angered her that they had done that. It wasn't the point of the exercise but it was creative and got the job done.

"Alright, we're done for the day. Go home and continue to practice the jutsus we've been learning in class and as always, work on you're throwing."

As the class scattered to gather their belongings and leave Suki couldn't help but notice Renzo's smirk. She hadn't accomplished much with him at all had she?

Iruka laughed as she related the events to him. "Renzo's a tough one but I'd say for your first time dealing with him it wasn't too bad. Every group has to have the tough guy who likes to show off."

"Ha, I guess so." She said with a polite smile. She'd feel a little better about what had happened if she didn't have a headache. "I bet Naruto was the show off of his group." She commented, thinking of the meeting she was to attend later.

"Actually, he wasn't very skilled at that age. He was a late bloomer of sorts, though he never lacked the guts." Iruka said, a fond smile crossing his face. "Sasuke Uchiha was in his class too and could have easily been the dominate one but he was never one for attention so it was left to Kiba Inuzuka to be the show off."

Suki laughed, thinking about the boy mentioned. It didn't surprise her at all, even if she had only met Kiba once or twice. She hid the cringe well at the mention of Sasuke.

* * *

Suki rubbed her temples as she walked toward the Hokage tower. What a nightmare today had been. The kids had been just terrible. Now she had to go to this meeting where she was sure she would receive news that would make her headache worse.

Suki's mind was racing as she walked. The street was nothing but unfocused brown shapes with the occasional splash of color. The delicious smells wafting from nearby shops had no effect on her empty stomach. The attention her surroundings were receiving was simply enough to be sure she didn't run into anyone or anything.

She had been wondering all day what this could possibly be about. Was Naruto in danger? The Akatsuki had been quite for a while; it would not be all that surprising if they had made a move. It didn't matter, they would not get their hands on her cousin. Her heart swelled with all the protectiveness of an older sister.

That's the relationship they would have had things had gone differently. Being raised by the same people, living under the same roof and learning the same family jutsus. Yeah, they would have been more like brother and sister than cousins. Too bad everything went wrong and she had only made things worse by running. Sighing she dropped that train of thought. It wasn't worth beating herself up about the past since it only made doing the right thing in the present more difficult.

The wind blew a cool breeze across her cheeks, calming her racing mind and helping her find focus. Suki's cerulean eyes drifted to the sky and she smiled. "I've got this covered. You don't need to worry about him." A warm breeze came this time, making her laugh. "I miss you too…" Her heart sincerely hoped that she was reading the wind properly. She'd like to think her Aunt and Uncle were watching and guiding her right now.

Suki came back to herself as she reached the large building known as the Hokage tower. Looking at all the steps, she suddenly felt very tired. Her feet began to move her up, toward the Hokage's office, anyway.

When Suki reached the polished oak door that lead to the Hokage's office, she knocked. She heard a muffled call that sounded like 'come in'. She found that she was not the first to arrive for this meeting. Kakashi stood leaning against one of the walls, Jiraiya was seated in one of several chairs and Tsunade was sitting behind her desk as usual. Jiraiya smiled at her in greeting. Kakashi simply raised his one visible eyebrow.

Suki gave them all a halfhearted smile before taking a seat. There was a tension in the air that made her think that her earlier assumptions were correct; something was wrong.

"Right, we're all here so I'll go ahead and get to the point." Jiraiya began. "I've been tracking the Akatsuki and they've been making some interesting moves. From what I've been able to gather, they are setting up for another attempt at capturing Naruto."

"Any idea who to expect or when to expect it?" Kakashi inquired from his spot on the wall.

"They appear serious about this, don't expect any openings. It's a strong possibility there may be more than the usual two. From what we already know, there are some Akatsuki that we have no information on. It's these members I'm most concerned about. After all, the Akatsuki are known for being unique. I'd say we should expect them to hit us soon and hit us hard." Jiraiya replied.

"If you have coordinates for me, I'll send the AMBU currently working on the Akatsuki there for further investigation." Tsunade said, handing Jiraiya paper to write on.

"What about Naruto? Are you going to tell him?" Suki spoke up.

"It's best if we don't, for the moment. I'd rather he not be involved He'll just work himself up and when the time comes he won't think clearly." Tsunade said, Kakashi nodding in agreement.

Suki bit her lip to stop herself from speaking. Anger boiled up in her. Did they really trust Naruto as they said they did? She could understand their reasoning to a certain extent but Suki trusted Naruto not to do that.

He had grown up a lot with recent events. Some she had witnessed and others she had not but none the less, he had grown. Besides, didn't he have a right to make decisions on his own? This was his life, his demon and his problem. It was not anyone's job, no matter how much they cared, to make these choices for him. The only thing those who loved him could do now is give him advice when he needed it and stand by him as he fought his fights.

These were the others who cared for him so she'd listen for the time being. Or so she thought. Kakashi stepped away from the wall and stood behind her and to the right. "Is there something you wanted to say Suki? You were invited because your input may be valuable."

"I'm simply worried about him. I think we all are." She said, trying to dodge.

"I know that look and that was not worry, that was more like anger hidden under a layer of uncertainty." Kakashi said. Suki's heart began to pound. 'Dam it Kakashi, shut up' she thought 'We are in front of two of the sanin.'

"What makes you so sure you can read me that well Kakashi? I'm a skilled ninja too." Suki remarked, venom in her tone.

She could see Tsunade's eyes moving back and forth between the two of them. "Something you two would like to share with the rest of us?" she inquired.

"I….I…not really." Suki said, uncharacteristically nervous. Kakashi had not hurt her upon finding out she had been lying but this was a completely different situation with Tsunade and Jiraiya. "It's nothing of concern. Just….personal issues." Her foot landed on Kakashi's foot as she said personal.

Tsunade leaned forward with interest showing on her face. "I don't like personal issues amongst my ninja. Perhaps I should move you to another area for the time being. You two don't have to work together constantly. I think they'd be happy to have you for some extra hours over at the academy."

Suki realized that this would pull her away from Naruto, and after today she wasn't sure she ever wanted to return to the academy. "No, that's not necessary."

"Well then, give me a reason why that would be a good idea then. If you two are having issues, it's to my best interest to give you're working relationship a rest period."

"You can't remove me from Naruto's team, not with this new threat." Suki said, frustrated with Tsunade's persistence. Was the whole world out to keep her and her cousin apart? Dam it, she'd spent enough time hedging on this issue. She had made up her mind and she wasn't letting anyone stop her from being at Naruto's side. She loved him as much as the others and she would not be pushed aside.

Seeing that she didn't have much of a choice, Suki stood. She gave Kakashi a glare and said, "This is your fault Kashi and I will kick your ass later."

Suki took a deep breath and began to speak with as little of her uncertainty in her voice as she could. "I'm sorry that I haven't been entirely honest with you Tsunade-sama. I haven't lied to you but there are some things I haven't disclosed." Suki put her hands together, quickly forming familiar hand signs. There was a puff of smoke and there stood Suki in her true form, blonde hair, blue eyes and all.

Tsunade just about fell out of her chair, Jiraiya's eyes widened. Gathering herself Tsunade stood and gave the woman before her a suspicious stare. "You have some explaining to do."

**Yes, I know, another cliffhanger. Don't worry, I'll update soon, promise. Leave a review and let me know what you think. Does Suki react too strongly in Naruto's defense? **


	12. Friendship and Advice

**AN: Well, I hope this didn't turn out as stiff as the last one. I didn't have as hard a time getting this one out. Hope you enjoy! I got it out as soon as possible as a sorry for the last one being so late.**

"Sakura-chan, where are they? We were supposed to start an hour ago!" Naruto wined to his pink-haired teammate.

The two of them had been waiting, as usual, for their senseis to arrive. It was a bit frustrating that they were always late for the few times they actually got to train together these days.

SMACK! Sakura's hand made contact with Naruto's skull. "Naruto, would you stop complaining. I don't know where they are any more than you do!" The irritated pinkette yelled.

Naruto fell silent at her outburst and sat down, placing his hands in his lap in his best attempt at sitting still. The girl sighed and threw herself down next to him. "I'm sorry, complaining won't change anything though. Why are you in such a hurry anyway?"

"It's nothing really; the guys and I were supposed to meet up later." The blonde said with smile.

"Well, don't miss out on that on my account." They heard Suki's voice say from above.

"We'll make this a time efficient training session then." Kakashi said, appearing out of nowhere.

Both of the younger ninja hid their surprise well but each had a racing heart from the startling appearance of said senseis.

"You're late!" the two yelled at the same time. A deep chuckle and a tinkling giggle were the older ninja's response.

"And they still haven't learned." Suki's light voice came from the branches above Naruto and Sakura.

The two of them turned to yell at the woman for her offence but were too shocked to speak. Instead of the Suki they knew there was a woman with long blonde hair and curious cerulean eyes. Her lips were upturned in a laugh as she jumped down to join them. "What, don't tell me you've never seen a transformation jutsu?" Suki joked while ruffling their hair.

Sakura, finding her voice, spoke "And you used Naruto and your inspiration why?" Kakashi's chuckle could be heard but none in the group looked his way.

"No silly, this is my natural appearance." Suki let out another girlish giggle. She was enjoying this a little too much. "Surely you much have realized I was a little too blonde to be brunette." She said with a wink.

"Nani!" was the reply of her students.

"Kakashi, I think I know how to make Naruto be quite. We just need to shock him." Suki remarked breezily as she walked away from the two who stood, looking open mouthed at her.

Together she and Kakashi headed toward the open part of the training field. Suki had to admit that after she was finished dealing with a pissed off Hokage that she had been looking forward to the looks on their faces. Sakura and Naruto hadn't disappointed.

Poor Tsunade had been torn between hugging her and strangling her. It wasn't everyday that one of your student's children, who you had thought to be dead for 18 years, was alive. Of course, Suki had not reacted kindly to being told she was the spitting image of her mother at that age. "Tsunade, please, I hated it when I was 5, why would I want to hear it now." had been her response. It didn't matter that her mother had studied under the woman, it still bothered her to have anyone remind her of her almost scary resemblance to her mother. Was there not some part of her father in her?

"You can't just show up one day and tell us you've been disguising your true appearance like that!" Naruto called from somewhere behind them.

"I suppose I could have done that differently but…the looks on your faces were too priceless." Suki replied.

Suki gestured to Sakura and the two of them went off to train, while Kakashi and Naruto worked together. The younger ninja were not quite sure what to say so they simply went alone with the routine they knew well. She and Kakashi exchanged quick looks, things were going as planned.

Later, the four of them sat under a tree, drinking water. "Suki, may I ask you a question?" Sakura asked.

"You just did, but, yes." Suki replied

"Why were you using a transformation jutsu?" the girl inquired.

"I'm sorry I deceived you. If it makes you feel better, I have been deceiving everyone. It's just, I couldn't risk everyone knowing who I am. Don't worry, I haven't been lying to you about myself." She smiled gently at both Sakura and Naruto. "I'm still the Suki you know. I just look different."

This seemed to make the two feel better, she saw their muscles relax just the tiniest. "Naruto, I think you said something about getting together with the guys." Kakashi mentioned causally.

Naruto looked up at the sky, seeing how high the sun had reached. Suddenly he was on his feet and grabbing the bag he had brought with him. "I have to run now." He called waving goodbye to the group.

As he ran away he paused and turned back to face Suki. "Don't think you're off the hook yet. You've got a lot of explaining to do!"

Sakura also noted the time and headed out for her shift at the hospital. She too warned Suki that the discussion was not over.

When the two of them were gone, Kakashi and Suki looked at each other and both fell into fits of laughter. "I wonder how long the shock will last? They didn't really ask much did they?" Suki pondered.

"Sakura pointed out the obvious in the beginning but never thought to question it after she realized this was the real you." Kakashi remarked, shaking his head. He was a bit disappointed in his student.

"It's probably for the best. I don't need the entire town knowing just yet." Suki said. She moved so she was laying in the grass, her long hair spreading out around her. She stared up at her sliver haired companion with her head upside down. "Think we should have told them not to spread this around? I mean, they don't even understand what they just found out. I can't believe Tsunade is making me tell them."

"Naw, I don't think they're going to say anything, the whole situation's a bit weird for them I think." Kakashi replied, staring down at her. "As for Tsunade making you tell them, I'd say it's fair if you are asking her to consider being honest with Naruto."

"Hardly, this is different." Suki said.

The two of them fell silent and simply enjoyed the warm breeze that stirred up. Her hair flew up in the wind, a few locks landing within his reach. His fingers slowly made their way to intertwine with the blond hair. "It's always been soft, I remember playing with it when we were younger."

Suki smiled up at him, "Yeah, I remember too. It's funny, everything has changed but…nothing has changed."

It was Kakashi's turn to laugh. "I don't understand why things are different but, they are."

"I know, it's strange but I like it. We're odd friends but, friends." Suki said.

The two lapsed back into silence.

* * *

Suki walked down the halls of the Hokage tower nervously. When she had received summons from Tsunade her mind went a bit overboard. Had she changed her mind about how to handle the situation? Was there more news on the Akatsuki ?

The pretty blonde took a deep breath and allowed her muscles to relax. Her lifted her fist and rapped on the wooden door that lead to the office of the Village's leader. Once given permission she entered to find that it was only herself and the Hokage in the room. The smile on Tsunade's face both relived and confused her.

"Suki, it's good to see you. Please, sit down." The older woman said. Suki did as she was asked, offering the woman before her a smile.

Tsunade reached across the desk and placed her hand lightly upon Suki's. "I'm still can't believe what's in front of my very eyes. I've been thinking about a lot of things since I found out about this the other night."

Suddenly her hands were gone and she was standing at the window. "Please, you don't need to use your disguise around me." Suki made a few hand signs and with a puff of smoke she was herself.

"Have you told Naruto and Sakura?" she asked, head still turned away from Suki.

"Of course, I think you're right about me not keeping secretes from them, except, they aren't really aware of what they know." Suki said, melancholy in her voice.

"It really bothers you that you have to keep things from them huh?" Tsunade said, suddenly facing her.

"In some ways, yes." Suki replied "I understand why I can't just walk back into the village and place myself in the open after so long but it feels wrong. Kind of like knowing that Naruto doesn't even know who his parents are. I hate that this world has to be so complicated."

"Spoken like a true member of your family. Your Uncle felt the same way about keeping Naruto's existence a secret. This world simply is that complicated." Tsunade said.

"He deserves to know. Even if the rest of the world can't know yet, he should. Naruto is strong enough to handle the repercussions if it were to get out. He isn't a Namikaze for nothing you know." Suki said with conviction.

"So, you think he's strong enough? I agree, he could protect himself, but could he handle that knowledge? It's a lot to handle and now, not only does he gain a family history but a cousin. Could you handle it if he took the knowledge of your deception poorly?" The Hokage inquired.

Suki's head bowed as she took in the words. What would she do if Naruto did not take things well? What if he hated her? She had abandoned him then upon returning lied to him. It wasn't that she couldn't explain but it didn't mean he had to see it that way. He had suffered greatly.

"What was I supposed to do? I couldn't watch the villagers treat him that way and I couldn't protect him without everyone knowing who he was and putting him in danger. It was a hard choice to make, walking away from what was left of those who I loved most." Suki took a shaky breath.

A hand was on her shoulder, squeezing in a comforting manor. Her eyes found Tsunade's and she tried to smile.

"You forget you're a Namikaze too. Not only is your family strong but also self-sacrificing in a way most never could be. I can't say you were smart to stay away for so long or to allow people to think you were dead but leaving was probably the best thing you could have done for him. It not bad that you want his acceptance and it's not as selfish as you seem to think it is." Tsunade told her.

"But it is, it's selfish and….I don't care. I'm allowed to want something for myself. I'm sick of being a victim, of losing what I want the most." Suki said, her eyes burning with emotion.

"Then don't let it go, don't let it escape you!" Tsunade replied

"Huh?" was Suki's intelligent response.

Tsunade laughed a ruffled Suki's hair realizing that Suki may not be a child anymore but might still need some advice from her godmother. It remained a mystery to her why in the world Suki's mother had asked her to be her godmother. However, this was the sister of the man who asked Jiraiya to be his sons godfather. This made the older woman want to laugh.

"Tell him, no one is stopping you. It's your prerogative. You are the eldest child of the eldest sibling in your parent's generation. You are the matriarch of your family. Your Uncle said that he didn't want Naruto to know until he was a chunin, and he is." Tsunade said.

Suki wasn't sure how to react, her head remained bowed. Tsunade's hands were suddenly on her cheeks, lifting her face so they could see eye to eye. "Where is that strong woman I know is in there? It's a part of you and you can't let that crumble, not even for those you love the most . Pull that courage out and use it where you need it the most."

A smirk crossed Suki's face. "Are you implying that I'm weak when it comes to Naruto?"she asked with a teasing voice. Perhaps, things would be ok with the right attitude. Tsunade was right; if she wanted it she should at least try. Besides, she would never know if Naruto would accept her if, she did not tell him the truth.

The older woman laughed at the return of the younger woman's natural attitude. "I forget how stubborn you can be. Your mother was the same way. Difficult student, that woman." She took her seat back behind her desk and folded her hands lightly in front of her. "I've been thinking about what you said, about telling Naruto about the Akatsuki. I think he does have a right to know but, perhaps we keep some the more sketchy details to ourselves for now. We don't have many details as it is so let's not over react."

"Hai, sketchy details left out. I think that's fair."Suki replied.

"You have my permission to inform him then. Thank you for coming." Tsunade said, effectively dismissing the young woman before her. She loved her but that didn't mean she didn't have important business to attend to. The paperwork was beginning to pile up.

Suki stood to leave but quickly turned back and ran over to Tsunade, hugging her tightly. "Thank you Tsunade-bachan!" She called as she dashed from the room.

"Not you too! You're 27 years old, must you call me that?" Tsunade said, rolling her eyes. Suki's face reappeared long enough at the door to wink at the older woman and then she was gone.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wanted to clarify a few things. I try to drop in details as I go but they sometimes get missed. I simply know more about my character than I could possibly share. To clarify, Suki's mother studied under Tsunade and Tsunade was named Suki's godmother. When she was still living with her mother Tsunade would visit them(that part I haven't written in). It's been years but hey, wouldn't you still love your godchild? As always, let me know what you thought. **


	13. Attack

**AN: Here is the next chapter, fresh from my mind and fingertips. Nicely manicured fingertips I might add…lol. Sorry, I was just realizing what a pain it is to type with my nails done. I hope this chapter does not turn out to be too confusing, please feel free to complain if it does. There is a lot of jumping around here but I think I kept things separated fairly well. **

**This is my way of saying sorry for the long break over the holidays. I wrote a long chapter, at least for me, and tried to get it out quickly without losing quality. **

"It's almost time to make our move." A dark shadow said, speaking to 11 other shadows of different shapes and sizes. The only clear feature was their eyes.

"We're finally going after the leaf Jinchuuriki then." A bored voice asked from the darkness.

"Yes, do you have something to say about that?" The original voice inquired.

"No, not at all. Don't be surprised if I take a little side trip." A chuckle came from the shadow closest to the bored voice.

"Whatever, if it doesn't take away from the plan you're free to do as you wish." The original voice said with finality to it. "We move tonight." It said as all the shadows slowly dissipated.

* * *

The hidden leaf village was very quiet, most of its residence sleeping. Night had fallen a good 5 hours ago and the moon beamed down its dim light from the sliver of a crescent that seemed to float in the sky. Four figures slowly made their way into the streets, preparing for their job.

Suki slept lightly in her room, having gone to bed early in preparation for a mission the next day. When a light breeze blew across her cheek she immediately woke, instincts kicking in. Her window had been closed when she had fallen asleep.

Her eyes fell on a dark figure standing in the corner caught her attention. "Amazing, you're gorgeous even disheveled with sleep. I'll never forget how soft that long hair of yours is."

Suki forced her muscles not to tighten but she could not help the lump that formed in her throat or the goose bumps that rose on her skin. This explained how someone had gotten through her protective jutus. There was little that would hold this particular ninja back. It felt like forever since she had heard that voice. "Is that all you ever saw in me, a pretty face?" she asked, stalling while she tried to form a plan. She was clearly outclassed by the ninja in front of her, not to say she could not put up a fight.

A cold laugh, laced with a vindictive tone came from the corner as the figure moved closer. Itachi Uchiha appeared in the little light that came from the window. "If you were just a pretty face I wouldn't have bothered with you. You have strength, intelligence and experiences which make you quite unique. It's too bad you couldn't keep up with me, I was so hoping you would. I always thought we were a good pair."

It was Suki's turn to laugh, almost with cruelty. "Ha, you can't even admit the truth. Some nin you are, hiding things from yourself. It'll be your down fall."

There was a pause in the Uchiha's steps, one so brief you would miss if you weren't looking for it. "Now you've got me intrigued. What it is you know about myself that I don't?"

"I'm not telling you, you'll have to figure it out yourself. Pity you will figure things out too late. I look forward to seeing the look on your face." Suki said, pushing herself quickly out of the bed and into a defensive stance.

The whole time her mind had been running full throttle, trying to figure out what was going on. Were the Akatsuki making their move? Was this simply a distraction?

"We haven't seen each other in years and you want to fight? The girl I remember would have greeted me with a hug and a kiss." Itachi remarked.

"The girl you knew is now a woman and she doesn't see the person she would love to show her affection to. You're nothing but an empty shell who only looks like the Itachi I knew." Suki said, still stalling. If she tried to escape he would most likely stop her.

"I guess you're right, I'm not that weakling any more. I'm so much more, but of course you already knew that. You always saw my potential, saw me like no other. We could have been happy." was his reply.

"No, I never quite had the same hunger for power as you. You mistook my ambition to be strong and an inspiration as a thirst of power. We could have been happy perhaps….if I had been as emotionless as you. Then again…that wouldn't allow for being happy now would it?"

"Enough of your preaching; that always did annoy me." A smirk crossed his face as her face changed from strong and defiant to one of shock. A sharp pain was engulfing her; its source was the mark on her shoulder. The pain was piercing, like being hit with many kunai at once. She let one cry of pain escape her lips before pushing the pain back to its source and regaining control of herself.

Part of Suki was angry with herself for letting him play with her like this. She began to prepare to several things at once. If she wasn't fully prepared she'd never accomplish anything against Itachi. She heard him speak as she thought each move though.

"You're stronger than before. That is very good Suki. Looks like I'll have to resort to more traditional methods." Before Suki could look away she was imprisoned in the world Itachi had fashioned for her.

* * *

Naruto was in a deep sleep when something woke him. Sitting up in bed he scratched his head, trying to figure out why he felt so bothered. It finally struck him, as he processed that it was a woman's scream, which had awoken him. A scream that sounded familiar, a scream from two doors down.

Before his still waking mind could process what was happening he was already on his feet and grabbing his gear from where he had thrown it on the floor earlier that night. He quietly made his way out the front door of his apartment, now in full ninja mode. The woman who lived next door was standing looking worried just outside her door. Naruto motioned for her to be quiet as he creped along the landing toward Suki's apartment.

He noticed that her window was open and slowly slid into a position to look into the bedroom and figure out what was happening. Though he'd like to burst in, Suki had drilled it into him that it was best to assess the situation first. She'd be angry if he made that mistake, especially since it sounded like she was involved.

Naruto recognized the Uchiha immediately and realized with horror that Suki was currently caught in one of his genjutus. Turning to the woman behind him he whispered instructions to alert as many shinobi as possible and to sure that Kakashi the copy ninja was told to come quickly. Making several shadow clones he prepared to face Itachi and hold him off until assistance arrived.

* * *

Kakashi woke to someone pounding on his door. Quickly he pulled himself from his bed and made his way to the door. He often slept in his clothing because he never knew when something would come up. Opening the door he found a young looking ninja, probably genin. "Kakashi-sensei, the village has gone into high alert. There are intruders in the village."

"Where are they?" Kakashi questioned, suddenly fully awake.

"Not fully sure sensei, there was something about some apartments downtown."

Kakashi was running away before the boy had even finished his sentence. Could it have been Naruto's apartment complex? Stopping for only a moment he summoned Pakun and then continued with the dog at his side. "Kakashi, what's going on?" the pug asked as he kept pace with this ninja partner.

"I need you to go to Tsunade-sama and relay a message. I think it's possible that the Akatsuki are making their move to capture Naruto tonight. I'm on my way to where some action was reported. It's possible that this was at Naruto's apartment complex." Kakashi replied, not missing a beat in his running.

Pakun turned quickly and made his way toward Hokage tower while Kakashi continued toward his destination. When he arrived it was pretty clear that something was going down. The sounds of a fight came from an upstairs window. What surprised him was that this apartment didn't belong to Naruto but to Suki.

* * *

Everything had suddenly changed. Suki looked around herself and saw smoke, people running and screaming and a loud rumbling in the distance. The sound of crying made her look down and find a little blonde baby boy lying in her arms. "No…no…" she whispered, realizing now what was happening.

Her Uncle appeared out of nowhere, reaching for the baby in her arms. "Suki, thank you. How is she?" He questioned. Though she wanted so badly to speak her body followed the motions it had taken that day. Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. It was his turn to whisper his disbelief.

"Don't worry Uncle," she felt the words leave her mouth as they had on that fateful day "I'll look after him." He nodded, kissed her on the forehead and ran off to do what he must. Suki watched as the scene from her final moments with her Uncle played out.

Suddenly everything changed again. She was watching a group of men kick at something. Things looked odd, like something was blocking her full view. Her hands reached up to feel the mask that had once been familiar. AMBU, but what would bother her about this period? One of the men below shifted and she finally realized what they had been kicking. A small blonde haired boy…Naruto.

She felt herself spring and quickly dispersed the group. Poor little Naruto was shaking. This was before he had learned to deal with the horrid situation well…as well as a boy could. "No…no…I don't want to see this. Dam it!" she screamed pushing against the illusion as best she could. This was compatibly easy to handle seeing than what she knew was coming if she stayed stuck here.

She let out an angry scream out as she finally removed herself from the horrible images from her past.

Then she was in her apartment, something yellow and orange stood in front of her and it was yelling. Her mind began to unfog and she realized this was Naruto. Dam it, what was he doing here? Didn't he know he had probably done exactly what they wanted him to do? She blinked rapidly for a moment as a wave to dizziness hit her, side effect of Itachi's technique. How long would she be able to stay in the fight?

Naruto charged at nothing with his rasengan. Sigh, he'd fallen into a trap. When he came close again, she grabbed him and forced chakra into him, hoping to disband the genjutsu. His eyes became focused and he looked at her confused. "Genjutsu" she said, keeping her eyes on Itachi without meeting his eyes.

Naruto straightened out and stood at her side. "Let's try to avoid that, ok." Suki said, now worried not about herself but the boy next to her. It didn't matter what happened to her now as long as Naruto got away. "Interesting, even Kakashi couldn't break free of my Sharingan. I must know your secret." Itachi commented casually.

"I know you and your techniques too well, what would you expect?" Suki replied, disgust in her voice.

"If you know me so well, why are you still fighting. You've never been able to beat me before." His bored voice came.

"I not sure I've ever had the proper motivation." Suki said, forming a series of hand signals quickly. As she released the chakra for her attack she said "Kaze no Yaiba" and a blade of wind was flying in Itachi's direction. He, of course, dodged it.

Naruto created some shadow clones and together the two of them kept Itachi moving, making sure he never got to close as they couldn't look up to block close range attacks. They couldn't get at him though and he wasn't backing off.

One of Naruto's clones came flying at her. "Sorry Naruto." She said, as she caught the cone and redirected it's momentum away from her. The clone crashed into the wall and Naruto cringed with its memory.

"Suki, I honestly have no grudge with you. Stop defending the boy and I promise you no harm." Itachi said, trying to sound comforting and convincing.

"Now why would I do that? Letting you get what you want is the last thing I'd do." Suki yelled, throwing a set of kunai at him laced with her wind chakra. What she wanted to say was that Naruto was too precious for her to give up but, she didn't think now was the proper time to express that. They were quite deadly, if they ever hit their target.

* * *

Kakashi used a chakra-laced jump to reach the floor he wanted and made his way to Suki's open bedroom window to assess the situation. It must have been someone powerful to get past Suki's protective jutsus. Naruto and Suki were fighting someone in Akatsuki uniform; it only took a moment more for Kakashi to recognize which member it was. This wasn't good, not good at all. Judging my Suki's movements she was trying to keep Naruto close. How had they kept the fighting from leaving the confines of her room? What was she playing at?

Kakashi entered the room, throwing a good number of weapons, hoping to surprise Itachi and create an opening through which to reach Suki and Naruto. He reached them easily, taking a defensive stance. "What in the hell is going on here?" he inquired of the blonde woman next to him.

"I pretty sure he's just playing with us, he's not even really trying to do damage." Suki replied.

"Waiting for something then?" Kakashi questioned, trying to figure out the opponent. His eye was taking in everything it could.

"Most likely." Suki said, dodging yet another attack.

"The point of this then?" Kakashi asked

"To mess with me, I think." Suki answered, looking over at Naruto, who seemed to holding up but had used a good bit of chakra.

"Why are you defending the demon so heavily?" They heard Itachi inquire, "After all, you both lost greatly because of it."

Suki could literally feel the anger rolling off Naruto now. He needed to calm down, if he didn't the fox would come out and they couldn't afford for that right now. "Cool it please, Naruto. Keep your emotions in check." She instructed in a firm voice.

"Wait for an opening and get out of here, the both of you." Kakashi said, knowing the sooner they got Naruto out of there the better.

"I'm not going anywhere!" were the twin replies of both Naruto and Suki.

"Just do it Suki, you can come back and help after, if you must." Kakashi ordered, not really likening the idea of either of them in danger. Besides, though she was holding her own he sensed that something wasn't quite right with her. Still, she could handle herself, and he had to trust that.

Kakashi quickly formed hand signs and sent a ball of fire at Itachi. Suki was mildly impressed as she pulled Naruto with her in an attempt to reach the window. Kakashi must have picked this up with his Sharingan as he was lightning natured not fire. It was almost ironic that he had probably picked it up from an Uchiha. She paused at the window and threw a barrage of weapons, creating shadows to increase their chances of hitting their target. Itachi's Sharingan would probably undo her efforts, but she had to try.

* * *

"Why did Kakashi-sensei want us to leave?" Naruto questioned, upset that he had been asked to leave a fight. Suki grabbed his wrist and began dragging him away from the buildings. Naruto's questioning continued, "Where are we going?"

"They are after you Naruto, that's why we had to leave. We're going to find better protection." Suki replied as she continued to drag the boy behind her.

"Why protection?" The boy continued

"Because my guess is there's more Akatsuki around here and it would be a good idea to have more than the two of us for protection Naruto." Suki said with a hitch in her voice that went unnoticed by the blonde. It wasn't that she couldn't fight but, very few could take on Akatsuki members and she refused to lose him.

She was straining to fight the dizziness that had threatened to overtake her ever since Itachi had used his Sharingan on her. Judging by Naruto's clarity when fighting earlier, Itachi must have used a lower level illusion on him.

Suki set her eyes on the Hokage tower and increased her speed. An explosion behind them worried her but she could not stop moving. Eventually, the pair made it to the tower and quickly made their way up the steps and to Tsunade's office.

In the room were ninja of all ranks and abilities and Tsunade was barking orders. Everything fell silent as the two entered. Tsunade was simply happy to see that they were ok, the others were trying to figure out who this strange woman was for they had never seen her true looks.

"What's going on here?" Tsunade finally spoke up to ask.

"Akatsuki attack Hokage-sama." Suki reported, "We just came from a fight with Itachi Uchiha in the downtown apartment area. Kakashi Hatake is currently dealing with him."

Without a word Tsunade nodded to a group of ninja and they were gone, presumably to support Kakashi.

"So they broke into your apartment?" The older woman inquired of Naruto.

"No actually he broke into hers." Naruto answered, indicating Suki.

"It's unimportant Tsunade-sama, I promise to explain later."Suki said

Nodding Tsunade turned to another team that had been gathered. Suki recognized the Nara boy at its head and the blonde girl who was quite close to Sakura amongst its members.

"I want you to stay with Suki-sensei and Naruto. Shikamaru, you and Suki come up with a plan; your goal is to keep Naruto away from the Akatsuki members attacking the village. If anyone comes after you, stick together. Understood?" Tsunade said, giving her orders.

The group nodded at Tsunade and left the room. They found an empty room and stepped in to make a plan. Suki realized all eyes were on her. "If you think now is a great time for a story I'm happy to tell but honestly I think it can wait." Suki said, indicating her new looks.

"I agree." Shikamaru replied, eyeing her despite what he said. After a moment, he averted his eyes and placed his hands his famous thinking circle.

"What are we doing here sitting around?" Naruto asked, "Let's go help the village."

"We're supposed to be avoiding the enemy Naruto." Ino yelled irritated with him already.

"I never said fight the enemy." Naruto replied. It surprised everyone that he replied calmly and not it his usual loud manner.

"Hum, he has a point."Shikamaru said, giving Suki a meaningful look. She was confused for a moment before she began to understand.

"The village is short ninja and we don't know just how big the fighting is going to get. Perhaps we take the place of those working on civilian security so they can take our place and fight." Suki said slowly, forming a plan as she went. It was perfect, kept Naruto away from the fighting but busy and help the village.

Shikamaru and Suki nodded at each other and lead the others from the room. It was time to get serious.

**Well? What do you think? Will Naruto be able to stay out the fight?(If you say yes your deluding yourself.) A cookie for anyone who can guess what Suki thinks Itachi hasn't realized. I didn't spell it out but I have something in mind. It's a little abstract but then again…not so much, depending on who you are.**


	14. Amnesiarevised

At some point she became aware of the darkness surrounding her, pressing in hard on her. It threatened to push her back into the state of unawareness she had been in up until now. She tried to fight it but backed off when she felt the pain. Perhaps the numbness was best right now.

She struggled to remember why she would even be in this state but came up blank. Suddenly she realized something was touching her hand, maybe even holding it. It was difficult for her to tell.

She tried once again to push her way to where she perceived the surface to be. Everything came rushing back, sound, light and feeling. Her eyelids were heavy but she managed to open them.

"Suki" she heard a soft feminine voice breath.

Suki turned her head to see Sakura sitting next to her, her hand holding onto her own. She smiled at the younger kunoichi to signal that she was ok.

Sakura was relieved to see that Suki had finally awoken, her mind had taken quite a beating and everyone had been concerned.

"Good to see you awake." A voice came from beside the two women. Both turned their heads to the silver haired man who occupied the other bed in the hospital room.

"Kakashi, what are you doing here?" Suki inquired, interested in discovering what had happened.

"Same reason as you, although I must say you took a much harder hit." He replied, a confused look on his face. She should know this.

Now Suki was worried, she was obviously missing something. "Not to make anyone worry but…I don't remember."

Sakura was troubled as she examined Suki, asking her questions. "What is your full name?"

"Suki Sano" Suki replied, knowing enough not to use her most natural last name.

"Where are we?"

"Konoha hospital"

"What is your profession?"

"A leaf-shinobi"

"Eye color?"

"In which form?"

Sakura sighed

"Sorry, blue"

"Who is Hokage?"

"Tsunade-sama, granddaughter of the first Hokage."

"Ever lived anywhere other than Konoha?"

"Suna, for a period."

"What are your teammates names."

"Kakashi," Suki nodded toward where he lay. She then pointed at Sakura "Sakura, Naruto and Sai."

"What…"Sakura began

"Sakura, I clearly have no long term memory loss."

The younger woman blushed.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Kakashi questioned from his bed.

"Naruto, I and a small team were helping secure a civilian area."

Kakashi looked concerned, "You don't remember coming back?"

Suki shook her head sadly.

"Don't fret Suki, your mind has been through a lot and might just need some time." Sakura said.

"Why don't you fill me in?" Suki asked, looking expectantly at Kakashi

"You came back to help me deal with Itachi and he caught you in his jutsu." The silver haired man told her.

"Well, no wonder…"

Suki now speculated on what it was Itachi might have shown her. What could be so bad her mind would block it? She shuttered at the thought.

"Is everyone ok?" Suki asked, remembering all the people she cared for that were involved last night.

"Yeah, they're all just fine. I'm sure you'll see them. They haven't been in to visit yet today."

Suki looked out the window and judged it to be mid-morning. That reminded her. What day was it? How long had she been out.

Sakura and Kakashi were extremely worried about Suki. Both watched her face carefully. The fact that she could not remember attack was concerning. She had no clue how piercing and pained her scream had been before Kakashi had managed to break her free. Suki had passed out the moment her mind had been freed and had not woken up for nearly a week.

"How long was I out?" Suki inquired, breaking the silence. Two sets of eyes watched her carefully.

"6 days Suki-san." Sakura replied.

"6 d-" Suki began but was interrupted by the door flying open.

"Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei!" One very loud blonde cried out as he entered. His face broke into a grin upon seeing those he cared about.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Suki asked from her bed.

"Suki-san!" Naruto said excitedly "You're awake!"

Suki pinched herself and grinned, "Yep" Somehow she always found the blondes antics contagious. It had been the same with Naruto's mother. Something about their personalities just did that.

The two of them hugged and spent some time talking, and catching Suki up on what had happened.

* * *

Suki exerted all her force into throwing the kunai into tree. The said weapon sliced clean through said tree and several others behind it. It was amazing what wind chakra could do when used to its full potential.

Her hand reached up and wiped the sweat she had been building up off her forehead. She had been released from the hospital a few days before and was already back to training.

"Sakura-chan and Tsunade-sama both said to take it easy." She heard Naruto call from behind her.

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and turned to face the younger ninja. "Sorry, didn't mean to overdo myself. I feel fine, don't worry." Seeing his anxious eyes she smiled and offered to take a break.

The two of them sat down in the shade of a tree and relaxed. Suki could tell something was bothering Naruto. He fidgeted, which was unusual. Naruto was energetic and moved but not in this nervous manner. The older Nin placed her hand on the blondes shoulder.

"Why don't you tell me what's bothering you. It's better than making yourself uncomfortable over it."

Naruto bit his lip, how was he supposed to bring this up.

"It's really no big deal. It was just something Itachi said, doesn't hold much weight in my mind."

"What did he say?"

"He said there were things we didn't know about you. That I shouldn't trust you."

Suki punched Naruto in the shoulder, "And you believe him?"

Naruto's blue eyes met hers, begging for forgiveness before he even said his next sentence. "I don't believe that I can't trust you, but I think you are keeping things from me."

"And, how do you feel about that?"

Suki's heart began to pound, this wasn't good.

"A little hurt but mostly curious." Naruto replied with a grin.

To Suki's relief Naruto wasn't angry with her even though he knew she was keeping secrets. He went on to tell her it was ok, that everyone had to keep secrets sometimes. As long as she told him at some point, there was no reason for him to be upset. "Just promise me you'll trust me with your secret someday." He told her. Suki was surprised at how maturely Naruto was handling this. He did admit to being curious as to how Itachi Uchiha was involved in all this. If only he knew…

* * *

Kakashi wandered down the street with his typical little orange book held up to his face. He was so glad to be out of the hospital at last. The last few days had been even worse because, somehow, Suki had managed to be discharged before himself. This left him quite board. It wasn't as if he spent all of his time reading or even desired to.

He could still remember the scream Suki had let out as Itachi invaded her mind. It was full of fear and emotional pain. It made him wonder what could make such and strong kunoichi scream in terror like that. Itachi, of course, would know exactly how to get to her but still, she had shown such resilience to the Sharingan. Kakashi could not understand how she did it but she had shown an ability to resist that he had never seen before. What had been different that time, what had she seen?

What was worse was the look in her eyes just before she blacked out. Her eyes, usually so full of hope, looked dead. It was unnerving to say the least. Kakashi couldn't explain his odd connection with the kunoichi. Perhaps it was the things they shared in their past. Part of him hated it; he had no desire to get close to someone. No, he'd lost enough for one life time. Another part wanted to reach out this person who could understand him. It drove him crazy that he didn't really know her and yet, in a way, they did know each other.

He shook his head to clear it and realized that he had reached his apartment. Kakashi walked in and, as always after an extended stay in the hospital, was glad to be home. That was until he noticed a certain blonde haired woman sitting on his couch. She was asleep, in her lap lay an orange book. Wait….an orange book?

As if sensing his presence her eyes popped open. Seeing that it was Kakashi she visibly relaxed and reached her arms above her head to stretch. "Took you long enough to get here." She said, giving him one of her childish grins. Kami….how could she manage to smile like that with all the strife in her life?

"Ok…I concede that my house protection might be cracked by a shinobi of your skill but….how did you get passed the protection on my books? The Hokage herself couldn't get to them." Kakashi remembered an attempt to remove his books by Tsunade in an effort to get him to focus on his work.

That hadn't ended very well. He felt that is was unfair of her to punish him for what happened when she tried. Wasn't it her who had trespassed into his apartment? Tsunade did not see it that way and poor Kakashi had to deal with her temper.

"It wasn't that hard." Suki replied in a bored tone. Grinning again she held up the book. "These aren't half bad you know."

Kakashi smirked under his mask. "Ah…do we have a closet pervert?" he teased

SMACK! Suki's open palm connected with Kakashi's cheek. "I am not a pervert just because I got bored and read a book."

"Ah, but you said you enjoyed them."

"I did not; I said they weren't half bad…"

"I've been told only perverts liked icha icha…"he teased, seeing her cheeks turn a light pink.

Smack, another hit to his other cheek. "I'd stop while you're still ahead." Suki remarked.

Rubbing his cheek, Kakashi was surprised; kunoichi didn't usually slap, they punched. "I'm still ahead?"

"Saving my life twice still leaves you in my good graces." The blonde said, her hands on her hips.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head in his typical fashion. "Well….technically Sakura was the one who saved you on the mission…"

"You want to be in my bad graces?" Suki questioned, her own voice teasing now.

Kakashi sighed and flung himself down tiredly onto the couch. "Is there a reason you came here or are you just trying to give me a headache?"

Suki rolled her eyes "Always straight to the point with you huh?"

She sat next to him and sighed. "Well, first off I wanted to thank you."

He nodded his head acknowledge his acceptance and she continued. "It's about Naruto."

"What about Naruto?" Kakashi inquired.

Suki frowned and bit her lip, "He's one unique boy, no? I'm worried….after what happened last week. It could have gone so much worse."

Kakashi nodded, "It's true. What exactly are you proposing to solve this problem though."

She let out a chuckle "I don't have all the answers Kakashi." Her eyes went to the floor as she muttered, "In fact, I have very few of them."

"Come join the rest of us." Kakashi said, clearly smirking under his mask. She looked up and glared at him.

After a moment she stood. "I guess I ought to let you get some rest then."

Kakashi chuckled, "Sometimes, you're such a child." Seeing her turn, ice seeming to spread into the blues of her eyes, he added, "It's not a bad thing. In fact, it's… endearing. If only all of us could hold onto a little part of that."

"Does this mean you actually have something to say about Naruto?" she inquired

"You need to stop worrying so much or you will be covering up grey hairs much too early." He saw her eyebrow arch at him.

"He will be fine."

Her hands rested on her hips, "Yes I know, we both know how strong he really is. The boy has more potential than anyone could imagine."

"He doesn't want to use the fox's power." Kakashi replied firmly, a part of him needing to defend Naruto.

"I wasn't talking about that Kakashi." Her head tilted and she looked curious. He really hadn't guessed Naruto's parentage? "You already know. You just can't believe it so you tell yourself it's not true."

Kakashi's exposed eye bore into hers, trying to find her meaning. He heard her sigh and saw a visible lightening of her eyes before she shook her head and made a tsking sound.

"You're so logical, yet you can't see the logic that's right in front of you. That's not like you."

It was his turn to arch an eyebrow at her, "Then tell me."

There was a flash of her childish grin before she said, "I told you, you already know."

Knowing that answer was the best she'd get out of him Suki plucked the book she had been reading from the couch and headed for the door. Letting out a giggle she said, "Well, I really should let you rest. I think I'll borrow this. I wasn't finished when I dosed off. Bye Kakashi." With that, his door closed, leaving Kakashi alone and bit confused.

* * *

Sasuke sat in a dark room, a candle was his only light. On the desk before him was a scroll with some new techniques. Already he was planning ways to make t

hem useful. Before it was too late, he must learn all he could and gain all the power he could.

There was a taping at his door. "What do you want?" was his irritated greeting.

"Interesting news out of Konoha."Kabuto's voice came from the doorway as the door opened.

Sasuke kept his eyes on the scroll, trying not to look as interested as he was. What would be considered interesting by this group?

"The Akatsuki made another attempt at the Nine-Tails."

"Any particular reason this time is anymore special than the others?"

"There was new person defending the fox. Preliminary reports lead us to believe it was Suki Namikaze."

Sasuke's hands balled into fist. It could not be her…not after all this time. Didn't Konoha know what she had done? The only reason he wasn't after her too was because, although her acts were not better than Itachi, he knew it was Itachi who planned it all and he was blood. As for her; If his family had been foolish enough to let a snake in, it was no surprise that she bit them.

"What did this woman look like?" Sasuke inquired. Kabuto gave him a questioning look. "I once knew a woman by this name. It's possible I could confirm reports."

"Wavy blonde hair, down to her waist and bright blue eyes. Her looks and attitude are said to be quite striking."Kabuto supplied. This was surely the woman he had known. Apparently, she had some sense of shame, as she hadn't used the name Uchiha.

"Hn…I'd investigate more before saying it was her…" Sasuke replied and returned to his scroll. This wasn't Orochimaru's business anyway. He didn't need to know how well he had known the woman.

When the door closed behind Kabuto, Sasuke sighed. None of this made sense…

* * *

Kabuto approached his Master's chambers quickly and silently. Orochimaru was waiting for him, an expectant look on his face. "Well, what did he have to say?"

"Oh, he knows who I was talking about. Although I can't be sure he knows her heritage."

"What was his reaction."

"It was slight but he was definitely angry."

"So he believes she helped his brother? Interesting, perhaps I can use this to my advantage."

Kabuto hated to ask questions but he was curious now. "What use is the girl to us?"

Orochimaru gave a wicked grin. "Oh, she's got many hidden talents that can be of use to us. The niece of the Fourth has great potential but she lets her emotions make her weak."

This woman did indeed have talents that Orochimaru could make use of. Her knowledge of seals would benefit him and he could not allow those talents to go elsewhere. The Akatsuki would have a field day with her abilities. Besides, it would be fun destroying the last of the foolish fourth's family. Imagine, the girl raised by the precious Fourth Hokage, turning against all the man fought to preserve.

* * *

"Ouch!" A familiar blonde kunoichi cried, holding her head in her hands.

"Sorry Suki-san, I didn't mean to hurt you." A hand rested on the jonin's shoulder.

Suki looked up and smiled at the younger blonde kunoichi who was helping her. "It's ok Ino, it's not your fault. You're only trying to help."

Ino sat next to Suki. "You're mind doesn't want those memories opened. I think that's why it's hurting you."

Suki smiled and nodded. She hated not being able to remember but there wasn't anything she could do if her mind was blocking it. Sakura had suggested that she try having Ino look inside her head to see if she couldn't help unlock the memories.

"Wish I had some more ideas of what might help. Other than the basics all med-nin know." The girl got a faraway look in her eyes.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Suki inquired

"Oh….it's nothing. Sorry for spacing out like that." Ino apologized.

Suddenly Suki pulled the girl into a loose hug. Not holding it for long, just enough of a gesture to let Ino know she was there. "Look, I know you've recently been though some tough times. I promise it will get better." Ino gave her a disbelieving look. "It's always going to hurt but you'll learn to handle it. Let it make you stronger Ino."

Ino gave Suki a weak smile. "I was just thinking about how he always had a way of getting me to think outside the box."

"Ah, I see. My… father….he always helped me see the bright side of things." Suki grinned

"You don't seem to have any problem with that." Ino commented.

Suki laughed, "It took me a very long time but the more I thought about him and how he did it the more I learned how to do it myself."

"Find your inspiration. It'll be the same place he pulled it from. Thing is, you'll have to do the pulling yourself now." Suki said, standing.

A bell rang in the front room and Ino quickly stood as well. "Looks like I have customer." Suki nodded to Ino and the girl ran to the shop, shouting her thanks.

Suki simply shook her head. She wasn't sure she had given great advice but at least it seemed to help Ino. One thing Suki knew from personal experience was that it was nice to know you weren't alone.

* * *

That night several people lie awake thinking about the future of Suki Namikaze. She herself thought about the futures of the two boys that she had come to think of as brothers. All she wanted was to help them but she was only one person. In her heart, she knew she had played a part in bringing about both of their situations. Now, she do whatever it took to get them out of trouble.

**Well, I hope it was better after my editing. Let me know in a review. Just to clear a few things up that my friends said might be confusing: I know it hasn't really been talked about in the story but Suki has taken after her Uncle and has a talent with sealing techniques and, yes, it's Minato she's talking about with Ino. **


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